Ghostly Grizedale exhibition extended into the new year
A striking art exhibition on the Forestry Commission estate at Grizedale Forest in the Lake District has proved so popular that it has now been extended until Sunday 17 January.
The ‘Ghosts in the Wood’ exhibition by award winning artist Mike Smallcombe, which was originally due to end on 6 November, sees 19 giant darkly enchanting 8 x 6ft photographs suspended among the trees and is estimated to have drawn over 10,000 visitors since it opened on 18 August.
The exhibition's stunning photographs are printed on a special outdoor canvas made from waterproof material and are held in place high in the trees using ropes and a specially developed pulley system.
Mike Smallcombe has described the Ghosts in the Wood exhibition as featuring images of imagined stories of local people in rural settings reflecting the harsh realities of country life; and also a reflection of the need of the imagination to ‘flourish through myth and altered reality.’
For more information see ghostsinthewood.co.uk.
Hayley Skipper, Arts Development Officer for the Forestry Commission at Grizedale said:
“We're absolutely delighted at the popularity of Ghosts in the Wood and it’s great for Grizedale that we have managed to extend the exhibition until the New Year.
“It’s particularly pleasing as the haunting nature of the photographs fit in well with the theme of our Dark Grizedale winter programme of events.”
Dark Grizedale is the theme for a series of events taking place over the autumn and winter months, with the aim of brightening the dark nights and firing up children’s imagination. Amongst the highlights are tree dressing events and lantern walks.
The first tree dressing event takes place on Saturday 5 December to celebrate Tree Dressing Day, a national day that highlights our responsibility for looking after trees and reminds us of their enormous cultural and environmental importance.
Children will get the chance to make Christmas decorations from natural materials, listen to tree tales, join a lantern walk and take part in dressing a special Grizedale tree. Families can bring a glass jar, to transform into a decorative lantern to take on the walk.
There will be further opportunities to make decorations, join a lantern walk and dress the tree on 6, 12 and 13 December.
Ghosts in the Wood is supported by Arts Council England, Devon Arts Culture and CCANW.
Grizedale is one of three Forestry Commission estate venues that have hosted Mike Smallcombe’s touring exhibition. Previous venues included Kielder Forest in Northumberland and Haldon Forest in Devon.
The exhibition is part Grizedale’s forest based art programme which aims to inspire and engage people with the development of art in Grizedale Forest and forge new links between contemporary visual art, sculpture and the forest environment.
Grizedale was at the forefront in the development of art in the environment in the 1970s and the Forest is home to over 60 sculptures including works by Andy Goldsworthy, Richard Harris and David Kemp.
Grizedale has something for everyone with a wide range of walking trails, waymarked paths, forest roads, tracks and bridleways, plus superb views of Coniston Water, Windermere and the Grizedale Valley.
More information about Grizedale Forest can be found at forestry.gov.uk/northwestengland.