An exhibition with a difference in Bath has been deemed a great success.
From a babe in arms to an octogenarian they all came to have fun at the 44AD Artspace event entitled ‘Ways of Seeing’. It ran for the whole of the Bank Holiday week, attracting not only locals but visitors from Australia, U.S. Wales, Germany and London.
The idea of the exhibition was to encourage people to think differently about painting and art and to discover more about the mechanics of sight, seeing and optics as well as an overall perspective of our world in general.
There were various practical activities and ‘challenging’ images created especially for the visitor/viewer to take part in immersive experiences.
Those who came examined intriguing images, made rainbows, created a hole in the palm of their hands, saw round corners, drew their own pictures, watched an electric fan share its energy with an unplugged compatriot. A piece that carried with it a deeply moving moral message.
One visitor wrote I especially liked “The Body is not Shaped for Maximum Health and Longevity’ whoever thought that two ordinary fans could be so moving! “
Postgraduate students Anna from California, Tenzin from Lhasa Tibet and Anna from Bath supervised and gained many many compliments for the inventive fun and intriguing visions they shared with all the drop-in visitors.
A mum wrote “Wonderful and inspiring moments for my three children 6,9 and 10.”
And one art lover wrote:-
“Incredible. Lovely. Informative. Loved it. I’d even go as far as saying I preferred this gallery to David Hockney.”
From the comments book:-
“Everything is creative. The drawings look good.
Thank you so much it was very cool and fun
Thank you for helping me see the world in a different way
I was here but couldn’t comment and then it was fabulous
Thanks, I really enjoyed it. It is very fascinating and cool
Amazing and very interesting. Thank you.
Lovely surprise to see so many opportunities to expand young minds and old ones like me Gail (Australia B. App. Sc.)
Two big fans. Love the work.
Really interesting – Thanks
Great concept. I love seeing things in a new light.
This was really different. Such a friendly place
I liked the fans
Such a lovely different experience
It made me approach things differently. So meaningful a gallery.
Some interesting things to think about.
Amazing. Very interesting!!!
Fascinating. I will definitely be back soon. Lovely.
This has been very interesting and freaked me out a lot.
Really fun. It makes you think
This was so much fun. The hole in the hand freaked me out!.
Incredible. Lovely. Informative. Loved it. I’d even go as far as saying I preferred this gallery to David Hockney.
I really like this. Looks really cool.
Everything is creative. The drawings look good.
The Tibetan painting left a deep impression on me.
Serendipity
So fascinating to find a Tibetan artist’s work on display. Beautiful culture and people. Thank you lots.
We liked all the fun experiments
I really liked it. Skye (age 5)
Chris Isaac’s prints were amazing. Wonderful imagination. Thank you.place.
That was very good and informative. Audrey from EPSRC
A delight to have seen your exhibition which was well done and fascinating. Thought the fan display was especially interesting and the Portuguese hat appealed.
This was great fun and informative. Thank you! Audrey from EPRC
Very fun for a family and an amazing exhibition.
Very interesting to see, especially for kids. So much to learn.
Kids enjoyed the amazing illusions
Just wonderful to have this sort of sharing show. We all learn. Thank you, Natalie.
So pleased to be here and engage with Paul and Hayley telling some of the process of seeing. Mind-boggling and enjoyable. Thank you.
It was a great experience to see things differently and was lovely talking about special things in Bath and Wells. Keep up the good work. Riana.
Thoroughly enjoyed our visit to 44AD. The exhibition on ‘Ways of Seeing’ was very enlightening. John and Anita. Barnet North London
Very interesting I’ve never really thought about how optical illusions work and the exhibition was eye-opening, beautiful and thought-provoking. Glad we visited this lovely place and thank you so much. Sally and Jess. Somerset
We enjoyed our visit very much. Very thought-provoking. Stephen, Harley and Caelan
A very interesting tour of diverse artefacts and art. Lovely to meet you.
Very informative enjoyed the different aspects presented
Loved looking at a lot of the activities – brought back memories.
Love it. The variety of concepts. I particularly like Chris Isaac’s work. As an Italian student it was lovely to see Sicily represented!
The lovely exhibition really made me challenge my perspective.
Both people running the exhibition were super friendly and explained everything for us.
So informative and fun! A lovely way to spend a Saturday. Loved the interactive aspect.
Great exhibition – nice interactive/sharing aspect.
Wonderful and inspiring moments for my three children. 6.9 and 10. Thank you very much. Especially loved that they could draw! Kat.
Very interesting and welcoming.
Very imaginative exhibition and very thought-provoking.”
Editor’s note. Well done if you read to the end!!
