Visited the Ikon for the first time in a while, and really liked some of the videos by John Wood and Paul Harrison. _Shelf_shows a seemingly infinite white shelf on which random objects appear - some paint tins, little figurines, HB pencils etc. Sounds boring, but is actually fascinating and humorous. Later I saw part of another film of theirs, in which a steadily panning camera reveals an long sequence of concrete rooms. In each room, "something" happens with ball. They fly in though a window, or fall from the ceiling or emerge from a hidden space. The anticipation and surprise almost made me laugh out loud in places. They have a lot of relatively short films on display too, but I will have to return to check these out.
Also showing is a large series of woodcut prints, Tale Pieces by Thomas Bewick, dating back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Ikon kindly provides large magnifying glasses so you can see the details in these small works. They generally deal with country scenes, featuring a small number of people, often a lone individual. Fishing, egg collecting and dogs turn up often, as do beggers, travellers and hangings! A rather odd insight into a past world.
