If you haven’t already been to see the current exhibition in the West Gallery at Quay Arts, you are missing a treat.
Not only is the Shademakers’ Ad Astra exhibition super vibrant and as large in scale as it is in visual impact – but, for the first time, you get a chance to be up close to the pieces – to examine and marvel at the staggering quality of the workmanship.
Seen from a distance
We’ve all seen Shademakers’ work of course – whether that be at street carnivals here on the Isle of Wight, at Hullabaloo, or, sharing the experience with the rest of the country, when Shademakers took their costumes and 200 Island performers to be part of the national centre piece of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Pageant that was beamed across the world from The Mall in London.
On those occasions you can look at the pieces as a whole. You take in the impact the piece has, but as they’re usually dancing, or swishing, or moving in some what – they’re called kinetic costumes after all – as they’re passing by, you can’t see the details.
This exhibition is your chance – and it’s one you shouldn’t miss.
Up close and personal
You’ll be able to gain an appreciation of the frankly staggering number of elements and the detail in each of those elements that goes into creating world class costumes like this.
Looking at the smallest square of material you’ll see the skill – and frankly love – that’s been put into stitching the multiple lines of different coloured thread around the edges – each in beautifully straight parallel lines.
That’s just one of perhaps 70 squares that sits on one of the six peacock eye elements. Each of these, in turn, are edged with extravagant three foot feathers.
The work and detail expands from there, as that’s not mentioning the ten foot feathers that rise up from the body harness – each topped with their own multi-coloured collection of elements.
Like we say, you’ve got to see it to really appreciate it all.
We, as the Isle of Wight, have got a real diamond here – The Shademakers team are world class.
Where and when
On Sunday (28th January 2024) some of you will have the chance to hear from the person – Paul McLaren, Shademakers’ Artistic Director – who uses his decades of experience and creative flair to not only come up with these costumes, but builds them, so they can be comfortably worn by the performers.
The talk will take place between 2-4pm in Quay Arts’ Anthony Minghella Theatre.
At the time of writing there are still a few FREE tickets available.
AD ASTRA (To the Stars) can be seen in the West Gallery, Quay Arts, Little London, Newport, daily between 9am to 5pm, until Sunday 18th February 2024.
