Jim Moir - Neo Fauna

The new exhibition in Cartwright Hall is 'Neo Fauna' by Jim Moir, a prolific artist more widely known as comedy legend Vic Reeves (part of the Reeves and Mortimer double act with Bob Mortimer.) 

I enjoyed the exhibition very much.  It's hugely varied, with some wildly colourful images, many of them birds, like the long -tailed tits below:

and the well-observed Black Guillemot Frenzy: 

Then there are much more understated but again beautifully observed watercolours. I particularly liked the quartet of curlews: 

'Barn Owl in a woodland' was looser and more impressionistic, and full of atmosphere. I also enjoyed the magpie (below). There are many of them in the trees round where I live and he has captured their 'essence' really well here, I think. Apparently, since he retired from comedy and became a full-time artist, he paints in the morning and then goes for a walk in the afternoon, closely observing the birds and the details of their appearance and behaviour. That careful attention really shows in his work.

Studies of dancers and birds imaginatively echo their movements.

Then there were more surreal and highly coloured offerings, like 'The Exhibitionist' (below) and some rather odd, distorted studies of 'American Couples', which I didn't warm to at all. 

It's rare that you see an artist with such a broad range of styles. I wouldn't normally show so many but felt I needed to do them justice. The exhibition is on until the end of August. 

Cartwright Hall

Cartwright Hall, in Lister Park, was purpose-built as Bradford's civic art gallery in 1904, thanks to a gift of £40,000 from the local mill owner Samuel Lister. 

As I showed yesterday, the extensive park has a variety of areas and attractions. The garden to the front of the Hall is planted with bedding plants in the formal, old-fashioned way, by Bradford Parks department. They were just refilling the beds as I walked through. 

The gallery has temporary exhibitions but also shows a selection of the city's permanent art collection. The art works on display do change from time to time. This is one of my favourites: Arab Weaver (1886) by Armand Point (1861-1932).  

It's hard to pin down exactly why I like it. It's a huge canvas, depicting a peaceful, cosy, domestic scene, nothing wild about it. I love the vibrant colours in it, the soaring arches, the connectedness of the young people pictured contrasting with the intent focus of the weaver (their father, I suppose). I don't mind if it is 'romanticised'! 

Park life

Now the new exhibitions have opened at Cartwright Hall (the Turner Prize having been dismantled), I decided to take advantage of a dry day to have a walk round Lister Park and visit the art gallery. The crocuses on the banking beside the main road have given way to hosts of daffodils and narcissi. 

A circuit of the lake is always pleasant, though there are so many geese that the paths get a bit yucky. The statue of Peter Pan (a copy of the original in Kensington Gardens in London) was a gift to Bradford from the philanthropist Sir Trevor Pears. It's installed safely on a small island in the lake, though that does mean you can't see the detail of all the woodland creatures and faeries on the base. 

The bandstand has been located here since 1908. Its roof became unsafe and was removed in the 1980s, and has since been restored. I think it's still used in the summer. Many of our parks have a summer programme of music. 

The park is a nice mixture of open spaces, lawns and planted areas. At one time there was an outdoor lido too, though that has long gone. I enjoyed my wanderings, though the sunshine didn't last long!  

The Turner Prize 2025 #2

Zadie Xa's work was bright, colourful, immersive. The floor was a mirrored gold material (you had to take your shoes off to go in) that reflected and amplified all the colour and pattern. There was also a soundtrack (which I couldn't really make sense of with my hearing impairment) but apparently included the sounds of the sea, whale song, ticking clocks and fragments of dystopian text. There were recurring motifs of shells and sea creatures, with a hanging shell-like form made of shamanic bells.

You know my love of colour and stained glass and here was a richness that was almost overwhelming. It struck me in some ways as being a bit 'overthought', though I enjoyed the exuberance of it. 

The one I liked least of the four exhibits was Rene Matic's autobiographical installation, questioning identity, culture, society and how we find a sense of belonging. It consisted of photos, flags (No Place... For Violence) and a bizarre collection of old, damaged and broken black dolls. I couldn't decide whether I was supposed to feel sorry for them, or offended by them as symbols of patronising colonialism. I'm afraid I found this all rather uncomfortable, ugly, angry and jarring and a bit 'teenage' - as I was no doubt meant to! Compared to the others, it seemed to me to have little 'artistic' merit/skill, being rather a commentary on modern life. 

It'll be interesting to see which one wins the prize of £25,000 - life-changing money for an artist, no doubt. The runners-up get £10,000 each, not to be sniffed at. 

The Turner Prize 2025 #1

As part of Bradford City of Culture 2025, Cartwright Hall has the honour of hosting the prestigious Turner Art Prize. Awarded annually by the Tate Gallery, The Turner Prize showcases and celebrates 'the most exciting new developments in British art'. The prize is awarded to a British artist for an outstanding exhibition or other presentation in the preceding year. The four shortlisted artists this year are: Nnena Kalu, Rene Matić, Mohammed Sami, and Zadie Xa. (The prize winner will be announced in December.) 

Of course I went along, not sure what I'd find as it has a reputation for being fairly avant garde. (Past recipients have included Damien Hirst, Rachel Whiteread, Gilbert and George, Jeremy Deller, Grayson Perry, Anthony Gormley, Chris Ofili and Anish Kapoor.) In fact I was quite impressed by most of the work.

The one that seemed to me to have the most actual artistic merit was the exhibition by Mohammed Sami, who was born in Iraq and now lives and works in London. 'After the Storm' was originally exhibited at Blenheim Palace and I could quite imagine it in those opulent rooms. Built in the 18th century to reward the military triumphs of the 1st Duke of Marlborough, and later owned by the Churchill family, Blenheim is full of art related to wars and power. Sami's work seeks to challenge the triumphalism, creating paintings about memory and conflict that are metaphorical and ambiguous, fragmented and evocative. Spread across huge canvasses, I found they rewarded my attention; I found them lyrical and in many cases beautiful. The huge one above left, had sunflowers in it, ripped out and trampled, apparently, by horses' hooves, which I took (rightly or wrongly) to be a reference to Ukraine, whose national flower is a sunflower. 

The Guardian reviewer was a bit snooty about them (HERE) but my response was positive. It was perhaps a bit too 'safe' for the judges? 

Nnena Kalu's work is raw and chaotic, brightly coloured and visceral. She's learning-disabled, with limited verbal communication and works with Action Space to facilitate her work. She takes basic forms like tubes and wraps them up in scraps, tape, fabric, even discarded VHS tape. The hanging forms suggest bodies, animals, or pinatas, reminding me (perhaps bizarrely) of the fools and hobby horses that are traditionally associated with Morris dancing. Her wall paintings are huge scribbles and vortices of colour. You get the impression that she puts her whole body and being into her art. 

Most of the reviews I've read seem to rate these the highest but I had to wonder if they'd have thought that if they didn't know the artist was neurodivergent. Art and 'culture' these days seems to be very intent on examining (and championing) identity and diversity and I guess in today's society these are urgent issues to grapple with. 

Cartwright Hall and its surroundings

I always seem to gravitate towards this view of Cartwright Hall, Bradford's civic art gallery, from the Mughal Gardens, a water garden inspired by traditional Islamic garden design. 

Closer to the building, I spent some time studying the elaborate stonework of the grand entrance portico. 'Baroque' style is very fancy, isn't it? 

I quite liked the little angels hiding around the pillars. 

In front of the Hall, formal flowerbeds and seats make a pleasant area to linger in the sunshine. Years ago, the circular planting behind where the lady is sitting was one of those floral clocks that used to be a feature of our parks and seaside promenades. It used to work too!

There are a few pieces of artwork scattered around the gardens. The blue 'pudding' is a work by Osman Yousefzada, who has 'wrapped' the statue of Diana the Huntress that stands in that location. 

The grand entrance gates have history for me, since this was the gate I used to enter every morning on my way from my student bedsit to the Management Centre where I studied (more years ago than I care to remember!)  It was a lovely walk across the park, in all weathers. 

And finally, a simple picture that for some reason appealed to me to take. I think it's the repeated blue elements balanced in a triangle that I like.  Beyond the gallery there are lawns and trees, a large boating lake, a children's playground and sports areas. (Click the Lister Park label below for other photos I've taken in the park. )

The Jameel Prize

As part of the City of Culture 2025, Cartwright Hall is currently hosting 'The Jameel Prize: Moving Images'. The exhibition brings together the work of seven finalists working with film, video, digital and time-based media, in the V&A's international award for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic culture, society and ideas. 

The winning entry, a clip of which is shown above, is the work of Khandakar Ohida (India), titled: 'Dream Your Museum', documenting her uncle's remarkable collection of objects and memorabilia. 

Marrim Akashi Sani (Iraq/Iran/USA) displayed vibrant prismatic lightboxes 'Muharram', portraying people's lives through their trinket boxes and prized possessions. 

Sadik Kwaish Alfraji (Iraq/Netherlands) offered two hand-drawn animations honouring his parents. Pictured below is a frame from 'A Thread of Light Between My Mother's Fingers and Heaven'. 

Below is a still of Zahra Malkani's 'A Ubiquitous Wetness' (Pakistan), sounds and pictures collected from communities along the Indus river and the Indian Ocean, related to spiritual and devotional practices. 

You really need a long time and the ability to pay attention to these layered and moving works, but they were all quite compelling in their different ways. 

The first spring-like day

I went with a friend to Cartwright Hall, Bradford's art gallery, to see the current exhibitions: one on Islamic calligraphy and, the other, some artworks from the Government Art Collection with comments by young people about identity. They were both worth seeing but didn't really enthuse me in the way that many exhibitions do. 

It was a glorious day with more than a hint of spring - the day before the equinox. We began to wish we'd set off for a countryside walk, though it was pleasant to stroll around the park. The banks alongside the main road are covered in crocuses, though we were a bit late to see them in their full glory - and a bit early for the daffodils that follow them. 

Sir Titus Salt's statue (1874), moved years ago to Lister Park from the centre of Bradford, might feel more at home in Saltaire. It is huge, reflecting the standing with which he was held by his peers. It is beginning to look a bit the worse for wear. The white marble isn't very white now. I decided a mono treatment showed it off better than colour. 

The fountains in the Mughal Gardens were playing, lovely to look at and to hear and quite refreshing on a sunny day, though it was still big coat weather as far as I was concerned. The sunshine hasn't yet translated into heat. 

Lister Lake abstract

I enjoy noticing reflections and trying to find a balanced composition. Rather liked the colours here. It was Lister Park's lake, on my last visit, quite a while ago now (when the trees still had leaves!)

I'm going stir-crazy being confined to home. Since it snowed last weekend it has barely got above freezing so there is sheet ice everywhere, on the side roads and pavements (though the main routes have been gritted). I can't get the car out as our drive slopes uphill and is icy. I've been reluctant to go out on foot in case of a fall. Our NHS is in a bad way. They've been on a shaky footing since Covid and now there's a winter flu surge. Ambulances, hospitals and Emergency Departments are struggling so, if you do have an accident, the prospect is a long wait for an ambulance (even if you're lying in the snow!) and then an hours long or even days long wait in A&E. So the best option is not to take risks, I feel! 

Early autumn, Lister Park

Colourful early autumn scenes on a sunny day in Bradford's Lister Park: Two small boys armed with long sticks were attempting to dislodge conkers from the horse chestnut trees - a pastime that has endured for centuries.

A small acer in the Botanic Garden was making the most of its few weeks of glory.

The bronze Stag statue, by Pierre Louis Rouillard (1820–1881), was looking every inch the monarch of the park.