Mad hatters get festival off to a colourful start
Last updated 15:13, Thursday, 02 October 2008
YOU would have to be as mad as a hatter to have missed the crazy goings on in the grounds of Hexham Abbey this weekend.
The bandstand was transformed into a giant tea cosy as part of a public art installation.
Led by Kirkharle-based textile artist Ingrid Wagner, teams of knitters from all over the district joined forces with those across the region to create the big knitted panels.
Each panel was made from ripped bed sheets that were dyed, knitted and stitched together to create the final effect.
Those who had contributed to the knitting project were invited along to take tea at the bandstand, accompanied by several figures straight from the pages of Alice in Wonderland.
Girls from the Newcastle PR agency Tinderbox Events were dressed as characters from the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party whilst co-ordinating the tea party for their guests.
These colourful scenes were part of the Hexham Abbey Festival, which opened on Thursday.
Ten days of concerts and exhibitions fill the festival period, but Saturday was a day for families with a lively street parade through Hexham town centre.
Girly group Dolly Pop was part of the parade and waltzed marionette-style around the streets before giving an a cappella performance of their unique singing style.
Performances of theatre, poetry and music popped up all over the town with impromptu performances to entertain the passers-by.
In the Abbey treasury, Carolyn Mendelsohn’s specially commissioned art work has been a big hit.
Famous for her work as a portrait artist, Carolyn appeared on Channel 4 as part of its Picture This documentary.
Her piece for the Abbey Festival is a short film of faces, shot in and around Hexham town centre.
The 15-minute item is set to a haunting soundtrack jointly composed by festival director Graham Coatman and Adina Spire.
It took nearly 30 hours of filming in Hexham to get the footage she needed and many hours of work to create the final piece.
The film is in four distinct sections that categorise the people in age groups from those wrinkled with age to the youngest of toddlers.
Each face captures an emotion and the film is a celebration of the human face and its raw natural beauty.
People appear as human features and men morph cleverly into women, as the images blend and change.
Those with similar hairlines, eye shapes, smiles or jaw lines are blended together until one face merges into another and re-appears as a new person.
The film is screened upstairs in the Abbey in an intimate setting throughout the festival week.
The festival continues today and tomorrow. See the Queen’s Hall box office for tickets.
property
jobs
date