Final Exhibition at Gallery@49 - Janet Curley Cannon

I mentioned last week that I went to the Private view of the final exhibition at Gallery@49. One of the places where TVCT exhibition - Whatever Floats Your Boat was shown.

This final exhibition is called Foundation: ReOrsa Founders Finale. Bracknell is on the verge of a big regeneration project, so businesses and charities have had to move out of their premises...some are finding this difficult because of the cost of rent in the other parts of town.
The 3 artists - Janet Curley Cannon, Tonia Maddison, Jenny Parkes - who began the Gallery@49 project are completing their time at this site by putting on the last exhibition.

One of the biggest things to catch your eye is the work of Janet Curley Cannon.

(Follow the link to see her work. Each of the pieces on exhibit this time are from her Structure and Form series.)
Specifically noticeable is the installation piece in the centre of the floor- 'Notes from Market Street'.

As you can see here, the 'notes' referred to by Janet are the markings one finds on roads. Janet makes intriguing pieces which really look like bits of dug up road.

Janet was telling me one time that she had several large pieces like this on the pavement out in front of her former studio, trying to get some good photos of them. A few lads came by and were 'well impressed' that she had made the pieces. Then she picked them up, one under each arm and carried them back into the studio. Their eyes nearly fell out of their heads and their chins were on the floor! Janet uses a papier-mâché technique to create the work, so they are actually very light.

A few more of her pieces could be quite easily connected to thoughts about the upheaval that is already affecting people who have been in that part of Bracknell for many years.

Particularly 'Not on the High Street Any More'

and 'End Remains'.

The metal building frame pieces with remnants of window-like panes were almost like ghosts of buildings. They worked especially well in the large windows of the gallery.

The Grey Zone

and Fragile Recovery.

Janet made sure to tell me she had used 'fabric' in this piece. Digital print onto Lutrador and cut out with a soldering iron.

from the side

If you can get to Bracknell on the weekends the next 2 weeks, do try to go and see the work.