With new exhibition - No Frost at Night
We are reopening the Babylon Gallery and gift shop, on Ely’s riverside, on Friday 23rd April with the exhibition titled: No Frost at Night.
Five new artworks have been created in response to a historical weather diary written in 1963 by Betty Mann, a lifelong resident of Soham in Cambridgeshire. Some of these artworks have taken their inspiration from The Big Freeze, a particularly treacherous weather event which occurred in 1963. Visitors to the exhibition can expect to see variations on the winter landscape with abstract depictions of mist, frost, ice and snow.
The five artists presenting their work are:
Amber Lawrence a sculptor, printmaker and installation artist, who has created a sculptural representation of the temperature data recorded by Betty Mann, from each day of the year in 1963.
Eleanor Wood an artist, who has produced a series of contemporary works on paper that respond abstractly to the age and feel of Betty Mann’s weather diary.
Mari French an abstract painter, who has created a series of nine mixed-media artworks responding to observations of winter through windows.
Mark Tamer who is an experimental photographer, working with both analogue and digital mediums, is presenting a visual interpretation of 30 days in January 2021 from his own diary as he records his vestibular migraine attacks that impact his everyday life.
Simon Nunn a filmmaker who has contributed a video using archival footage of Soham and its surrounding fens landscape, combining past time festivities in the village with weather patterns shot digitally.
The exhibition has been curated by Sid White-Jones, as part of the Babylon Young Curators’ programme, in which young, aspiring creatives stage an exhibition with guidance from experienced mentors. Young Curator, Sid White-Jones explains – “I wouldn’t have believed back at the start of lockdown last year, that I’d later be given the chance to curate my own exhibition with the support of the Babylon ARTS’ team. I’ve really enjoyed the process and I can’t wait to see what people think of the exhibition.”
In addition to being able to visit the exhibition at the Babylon Gallery in person, people can also explore No Frost at Night via a virtual tour.
Claire Somerville, chief executive Babylon ARTS added; "We wanted to make sure that even if we had further lockdowns due to Covid, our Young Curators would have the opportunity to install their exhibitions at the Babylon Gallery and that people would still be able to see them, even if only online. Happily, we can open the exhibition with our Covid secure measures in place from 23rd April, so people will have two ways to see the work.”
The exhibition at the Babylon Gallery runs from midday 23rd April to 23rd May. The virtual tour will be available for the coming year.
This exhibition is part of our Babylon Young Curators programme, funded by Arts Council England and supported by East of England Co-opertive.
Project Partners: Kettles Yard, Heritage for All, Wysing Arts, & G's Fresh.