North East film to screen at Tate Britain
Filming 'Last' at the Laing Art Gallery
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A film by young people from the region will go on show at Tate Britain, London, on Friday 4 November.
Previously exhibited at the Laing Art Gallery as part of the Great British Art Debate, the film, Last, explores the regrets of a group of people who discover they are the last on Earth.
Inspired by John Martin’s apocalyptic painting, The Last Man, the film will be screened throughout the evening at Late at Tate Britain - Beyond Apocalypse, an evening exploring apocalyptic visions through a vibrant mix of performance, music, film and talks.
The young people involved have been taking part in the Visual Dialogues programme – a partnership between the Laing Art Gallery, Tate Britain and other museums and galleries across England - and have explored the works of 19th century artist John Martin with artists, designers and Laing Art Gallery staff. Last was made in response to these works.
Julie Milne, curator of the Laing Art Gallery, says,
“The group worked in collaboration with Arpeggio Films to produce this fantastic piece of work which was on display during the John Martin: Heaven & Hell show earlier this year. The film is both compelling and evocative and they should all feel immensely proud of their film. It is tremendous to have the piece shown at the Late at Tate Britain event in London as well as their hometown.”
Sean McKenna of Arpeggio Films says:
“We are delighted that Tate Britain are showing ‘Last’ as part of their Late at Tate Britain ‘Beyond Apocalypse’ event in London. To have it shown at such a prestigious national venue is fantastic testament to the hard work of the young people and facilitators involved in the project.“
Some of the quotes from the young people involved:
''....After looking at John Martin's work, we were inspired to make something that conveyed a dark and powerful emotion...''
''.... the project has shown me different ways of representing work through scale, style, even things like shadow puppets -
it allowed me to look at things in a different way.....''
''....I feel inspired by the work I have seen and I’ve already thought about doing other projects based on the work we saw...''
The Great British Art Debate is a partnership project between Tate Britain, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, Norfolk Museums & Archaeology Service and Museums Sheffield, supported by The National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund, and by the MLA’s Renaissance programme.
The Laing Art Gallery is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm and Sundays from 2pm to 5pm. Admission is free.
The film can be viewed here: www.a-films.co.uk/last
To join the debate online, please visit www.greatbritishartdebate.org or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/gbartdebate