'NO NO NO NO NO'
2007
Powder Coated Aluminium, LED lights, Plywood, Paint
Sited at Hymers Court Railway Arches, Gaetshead.
Commissioned by Gateshead Council.
Photo by Joe Clark
NO NO NO NO NO
A new thought-provoking artwork commissioned by Gateshead Council as part of the town Public Art and Regeneration Programme has just been installed (Wednesday 24 January).
The temporary artwork encourages passers by to question the world around them and draw their meanings from the piece which simply states, 'No, No, No, No, No'. The text is made from aluminum and LED lights, which create a halo effect and are set onto plywood. It is sited on five archways that form part of a railway viaduct in Hymers Court, next to the Tyne Bridge.
The viaduct is a historic structure dominating the perimeter of the Town Centre and is on a newly created pedestrian route linking the Town Centre to the Gateshead Quays.
Artist Miles Thurlow works with sculpture and installation and this will be his first public art commission. Thurlow is a co-founder and co-director of Workplace Gallery in Gateshead, and is Head of Sculpture at Sunderland University. He lives and works in Newcastle and Gateshead.
Cath Campbell works in architecture, drawing and sculpture. Campbell's permanent commissions include 'Escapology' for Northern Stage Theatre, Newcastle upon Tyne, and 'Detour', for Nexus Art on Transport Programme. She was recently awarded the ING Discerning Eye Drawing Bursary
Miles said: "We were interested in the idea of installing a text piece that raises questions about its surroundings and what that could mean. It is deliberately ambiguous. By giving an answer, it forces you to find a question. The meaning comes from the person who's looking at it, and not directly from the piece itself. It works like a mirror, making you reflect and question your surroundings, political situations and perhaps even your personal life.
"It's very simple, right down to the simple Helvetica font of the text. It's very subtle and you almost don't notice it as you walk past, it's designed to catch the corner of your eye, and to start you thinking. We liked the idea of people just chancing upon it and wondering why it is there and what it might mean."
Anna Pepperall, Public art curator at Gateshead Council, said: "People have been interested in this work from the early planning stages, and we hope it will create a context for debate and discussion about public art in site specific locations."
Cllr John McElroy, Cabinet member for Culture at Gateshead Council, said: "This artwork is a thought-provoking piece, it is part of the town centre improvement scheme, marking routes to Gateshead Quays. It is a temporary piece that challenges what we think about ordinary locations and can give benefit and improved awareness to our environment."
Commissioned by Gateshead Council Town Centre Partnership and funded through the single regeneration budget with support from Commissions North.
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