JIM Parish, Killough artist, has shown off his range of art works in Down Arts Centre. His selection of different art forms was definitely a breath of fresh air and certainly left me with plenty of think about after looking over his automata… artefacts-cum-machines.
Born in London and having studied art in Sunderland, Jim moved to Killough in 1995 and have been quite a prolific artist in his seaside home. His early working career saw his involved in scenic set design for TV and film.
He enjoys working in different types of media but recently his imagination has been taken over by working in delicate, futuristic-looking 3-D wire models. It is a very interesting arts’ statement as art definitely meets science here. His works sometimes have blades as in a windmill and this adds to their movement and general fascination. This exhibition includes these kinetic sculptures and paintings. Some of the sculptures are whimsical automata while others swing and sway reflecting the movements of the natural world.
“I have just been very much absorbed by this new art medium working in wire. The structures are delicate and have working computer parts. They are actually quite technical in their development, and push me in using all of my skills. Parts of the models are controlled by micro-processors and can if I want too, set them up so they are remote controlled from home.
“I’ve just used very modern technology in a creative way. Many artists have always dabbled in technology such as Leorardo de Vinci. There is now a small community of artists making these artefacts. It is to use a pun, wireless technology in that the micro-processors are controlled from a distance.
“Children are quite fascinated by them and want to know how they work. It takes me a few weeks to make each one and they are really quite technical in their make-up. I get inspired from looking at turbines and pylons and such structures and look at the way energy works with them.
“Accompanying the sculptures are paintings that deal in varying degrees and scale with the human form and the perception of light.
“I am also showing a number of light panels and have tried to play on ideas and using photographs and solar panels. Energy feeds into the panels and is controlled by the micr0-processors. My art work is really about integrating a wide range of skills. It is certainly an interesting range to exhibit. I can even link up the machines together.”
The fact that Jim Parish is working in wire ‘wirelessly’, a relatively modern medium, (and semantically confusing), and integrating the latest technology, indicates that art does not stand still. He believes it is about helping us to interpret our world, to push our thinking to its limits. Jim Parish’s mini-masterpieces do just that.
This is the first time that Jim has exhibited in the Down Arts Centre but has shown his works around Northern Ireland in the past.
Jim Parish has taken ideas and deconstructed them, and reconstructed these in his intricate machines to provide endless hours of fascination.
The exhibition which is free to visit in the Down Arts Centre started on 2 November and will run until Saturday 24 November.
