SANCTUARIES OF STONE 2: LANDSCAPES OF MEGALITHIC BRITAIN

Paul Neades

May 6th - 28th 2006

Opening Times: Tuesday - Sunday 12pm to 3pm

Preview Friday 5th May 7-9pm

Artist's Statement

A motivating tenet behind this series is the exploration of communal evolution through concept to destruction and eventual desolation, and in tracking the landscape's clues to society's structure and mankind's role within said landscape. All whilst tempered with the mysticism such sites evoke in the process. With one project goal being to tempt the individual to visit these locations, a recurring theme to Paul's work is the stagnation and decay of society and this series of ancient landscapes provides a historical backbone to a parallel series on urban regeneration.

Paul is presently engaged as Artistic Designer for Trinity Emporium, but away from the art is a Sir Malcolm Stewart Prize winning writer and runs Mucusart Publications - a member of the Index/Literature North West Publishing Consortium. He is editor of acclaimed poetry magazine The Ugly Tree, co-editor of the short story magazine Ballista, and in 2002 co-founded Manchester's extraordinary open mic poetry night, Per Verse. He has also been known to put out his back in archaeological trenches.

The photography in this series was taken on Fuji & Ilford film using various Canon & Olympus cameras.

Work from this series has been displayed from Scotland to the South East of England, and recently in the North West at the Judges' Lodgings Museum in Lancaster, Castle Park in Frodsham, Salford Museum & Art Gallery, Grove House Gallery in Keswick, Saddleworth Museum & Art Gallery, Buxton Museum & Art Gallery, Stockport Art Gallery's Artlink show, Lupton Sq Gallery in Honley, World of Glass and 5a The Gallery in St Helens. His next exhibition is scheduled for this July at Samlesbury Hall, near Preston.

For anybody interested in exploring the sites depicted in this exhibition, locations and directions can be found on the artist's website at www.mucusart.co.uk, accompanied by site notes, associated folklore and archaeological outlines. Recommended guide books and gazetteers are A Guide to the Stone Circles of Britain, Ireland & Brittany by Aubrey Burl (Yale), Discovering Prehistoric England by James Dyer (Shire) and Julian Cope's bulkier tome, The Modern Antiquarian (Thorsons).

some recent exhibition quotes:

"Archaeologists of a certain age yearning for mystic album covers will enjoy Paul Neads' paintings,"
Mike Pitts, British Archaeology

"Stunning ancient landscapes,"
St Helens Star

"It will inspire people to go out and see them,"
Buxton Advertiser

"Neads' version of nature is never copied outright but sifted via his perception, siphoned via creativity,"
Tim Birch, City Life

"A gem," Salford Advertiser

"Esoteric art with attitude," Exhume

"The work is a must for anyone with a love for ancient landscapes,"
Andrew Roberts, Free Pagan Press