Heads Roll, Graves Gallery, Sheffield
Curated by artist Paul Morrison, this group show explores the history of the depiction of the head and face in art. As you might expect, there is a wide variety of work on show, from straight up representation to more abstract interpretations. Artists featured include both contemporary practitioners and more historical ones, including: Frank Auerbach, Glenn Brown, Patrick Caulfield, Michael Craig-Martin, Jessica Diamond, Machiko Edmondson, Jacob Epstein, William Etty, Klara Kristalova, L.S. Lowry, Ben Nicholson, Mary Obering, Julian Opie, Ruth Root, Walter Sickert, and Mathew Weir, amongst others.
Until 24 November 2018. www.museums-sheffield.org.uk
Lily Cole: Balls, Foundling Museum, London
Created to mark the 200th anniversary of Emily Brontë’s birth, Lily Cole’s film Balls explores links between the Foundling Hospital story and the novel Wuthering Heights. Set in modern-day Liverpool, the work looks at how the lives of women, celebrated or unknown, were controlled by society in the 18th and 19th centuries. Cole’s powerful film asks whether any progress has been made. Also on show are various objects from the Brontë Parsonage Museum relating to the author.
Until 2 December 2018. www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk
Lucy Skaer, Talbot Rice, Edinburgh
Former Turner Prize nominee Lucy Skaer is known for manipulating pre-existing imagery from art, history, and her own past. For her latest show, ‘The Green Man’, she has responded to the collections of the University of Edinburgh, inviting fellow artists Fiona Connor, H.D., Will Holder and Hanneline Visnes to display work alongside her in the galleries of Talbot Rice, while also showing film work by Nashashibi/Skaer, her collaborative partnership with Rosalind Nashashibi. Highlights in this sprawling exhibition include Visnes’ paintings which comment on the representation and control of nature, and Connor’s exposure of the gallery’s less-known places.
Until 6 October 2018. www.ed.ac.uk/talbot-rice
Play It Again: The art of remaking, Firstsite, Colchester
This group exhibition features objects, events and films that explore how everyday experiences inspire ‘repetition, remaking and reenactment’ in different forms. On show is work by a number of artists, including: Heather Agyepong, Laura Eldret, Michel François and Guillaume Désanges, Sofia Hultén, Hetain Patel, David Sherry, Allison Smith and Gillian Wearing. There’s also a daily performance of Toasting, a work by Glasgow-based artist David Sherry, plus a crowd-sourced work by members of the public entitled Star Wars Uncut.
Until 9 September 2018. www.firstsite.uk
Samara Scott: Belt and Road, Tramway, Glasgow
This installation by Samara Scott features a vast, transparent membrane suspended from the gallery ceiling that includes various materials sourced from around Glasgow. It is made up of discarded, industrial items taken from building sites and motorway passes, mixed with organic matter such as weeds, catering waste and items from supermarkets, hair dressing wholesalers and office supply stores. The results are designed to change and decay over time, mirroring the evolution of cities in the process.
Until 28 October 2018. www.tramway.org
Image:
1. Michael Craig-Martin, Self-Portrait (Purple). © Michael Craig-Martin. Courtesy: the artist and Gagosian
2. Lily Cole, Scene from Balls, 2018. ©️ Fury Films. Photo: Eoin McLoughlin
3. Lucy Skaer, La Chasse, 2015-18 (detail). Part of ‘The Green Man’. Courtesy: Talbot Rice Gallery
4. Samara Scott: Belt and Road. Courtesy: Tramway, Glasgow
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