We asked man about town (and Leeds’ finest import from Sheffield) Richard Michie to go cast his curious eye over the Plaza Principle opening event in town yesterday. Then we took him for a pint and calmed him down . . . a bit of a culture overload, he’s just not used to it.
The Plaza Project – TK to the Maxx?
The Art in Unusual Places project opened a new exhibition in the Old TKmaxx shop just of Boar Lane last night. After being given the usual cryptic clues to where some thing was by Phil Kirby and struggling to find a parking spot that didn’t cost a million quid (well £3 per hour, which is still daylight robbery after 6 in a deserted city!) I eventually arrived at the City Plaza and entered via what was usually the entrance to H&M all those other lovely/awful (delete as appropriate) stores.
Going up the escalator in a deserted shopping plaza was very disconcerting especially as it did indeed appear deserted and slightly reminiscent of day of the dead or something (I’m sure I’ll be corrected on that). I realised I was in the right place though as some obviously arty types where on the escalator as few steps in front. And a good job they were too as there were no signs or clues as to where to go. So like a lemming I followed the cool looking people down a corridor which gave you the feeling of being somewhere you shouldn’t have been. Entering the space through what must have been a staff door you are confronted with a space which is impressive by its scale alone. With all the TKmaxiness removed the space looks very, well spacey. The only problem was that other than the odd pillar the space was far too open with everything presented to you in one lump, so you could see some of the sculptures through the other exhibits.
The theme all the artists had been given was to explore the idea of what the space represented. Some had used this and some of the exhibits seemed to totally ignore it, or maybe I just failed to see that they had interpreted it. Things that caught my attention were two reel to reel projections of the room being adapted for the exhibition, which ran the reels across the roof.
The other one I particularly enjoyed was three tanks filled with water which included frozen elements, the idea being that the art will change organically as the ice melts, not sure whether that one will last a day or a week, I’m no ice expert, but I’d like to see those develop.
There were some great exhibits including some nice video installations (does anyone buy these privately by the way) and some really nice ideas. For me at least it would have been nice if there had been a more cohesive story to the exhibition. Maybe if the space had been cordoned off using sheets so that the visitors could discover the exhibits and see a narrative evolve?
It’s worth a visit just to get into a space you know you shouldn’t be in. The fact that you get to see some interesting art is a very, very pleasant bonus.
The Plaza Principle A major exhibition of contemporary art curated by Derek Horton and Chris Bloor Preview: Thursday 21 October 2010, 6pm – 9pm Open 12–5pm every day: from Friday 22 October to Sunday 31 October 2010 In the former TK Maxx retail space on the top floor of Leeds Shopping Plaza www.theplazaprinciple.org.
Richard Michie is a co-Founder of Bettakultcha, Marketing Director, Dad and keen if poor photographer.