Date: Tue, 30 May 95 14:41:29 BST
Subject: Announcement: S.T.A.R.T.


For those who may be interested ...
-E.

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                     *** THE ANGLE GALLERY ***

The Angle Gallery, 3/4 Dakota Buildings, James Street, Birmingham, B3 1SD
Tel:(0121) 233 9260  Fax:(0121) 233 9275


                         23 May 1995

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                           S.T.A.R.T.
                      -------------------
       Strategic Art Regeneration Tour Starts in Birmingham


S.T.A.R.T. (Strategic Art Regeneration Tour - No More Hiroshimas) is a touring
art exhibition and a British-Japanese artists exchange.  The exhibition is set
to tour venues in Birmingham, Bristol, Coventry (including the Cathedral),
Liverpool, Belfast, London, Hiroshima and Nagoya.  The exhibition is composed
of the new, multidisciplinary artwork of 19 British and 7 Japanese artists.
There is also supplementary material supplied by the survivors of the atomic
bomb in Japan, the Hibakusha.  The artists involved have developed this
exhibition in conjunction with The Angle Gallery in Birmingham.


Jean Smith, Co-ordinator of the Angle Gallery said: 'When the atomic bombs
fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki the whole world trembled.  This exhibition
is full of human emotion and is a unique expression of the barbarity and
deception of war. It questions assumptions of racial superiority and difference.
The Angle is proud to be hosting this exhibition before it embarks on its
international tour.'


The theme is constructed around the artists' responses to the 50th anniversary
of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and expresses a contemporary
message of peace and international friendship.  The exhibition aims to
demystify Japanese culture as it is seen in Britain and forge contemporary
inter-cultural links.  The touring exhibition will also be an educative
experience, accompanied by artists workshops, seminars, performances of
poetry, dance, film and music.


For further information please call Jean Smith on (0121) 233 9260


                      *** THE ANGLE GALLERY ***
The Angle Gallery, 3/4 Dakota Buildings, James Street, Birmingham, B3 1SD
Tel:(0121) 233 9260  Fax:(0121) 233 9275



ANGLE STATEMENT


S.T.A.R.T. Strategic Art Regeneration Tour was initiated by the Angle Gallery
to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.  The bombings killed more than 200,000 people.

The exhibition evolved in collaboration with 19 professional British artists
and 7 Japanese artists.  The artists share a commitment to developing
international cultural links and a rejection of the ideas of racial superiority
that were used to justify the atomic bombings.

The anniversary is a timely reminder of present dangers of militarism
for those concerned to promote peace.  The touring exhibition and exchange
with Japanese artists will promote a celebration of the human potential
across the world and a contemporary message of peace.

THE TOUR (Exhibition splits to go to Japan)


The Angle Gallery, Birmingham				6 - 26 June


The Gallery, King St., Bristol			    30 June - 24 July


Canolfan, Nagoya, Japan					    4 - 14 July


Tengu Square, Hiroshima Peace Park, Japan	27 July - 8 August


Coventry Cathedral
& Herbert Art Gallery, Coventry				2 - 16 August


Northern Visions						
& Catalyst Arts, Belfast					16 September - 8 October


Alternative Arts, London					4 November - 2 December

THE ARTISTS

Japanese Artists

KIMINARI HASHIMOTO
YASUSHI KAZUTA
SAITOU KOUHEI
KYOKO SUGAI
NORIKO TANAKA
AKIYO TSUBAKIHARA
HAMABE YUMI


British  Artists

AMANDA BENNETT, Bristol
DONNA BEST, Plymouth
ADAM BROWN, Northampton
CLIFFORD HARPER, London
AL JOHNSON, Islington, London
JOHN JOHNSON, London
EMMA JONES, Bristol
SIMON LAKE, Leicester
MAEDBHINA MCCOMBE, London
CONAL MEYLER, London
EMRYS MORGAN, Rochdale
JOANNA LOGAN-SINCLAIR, London
GEE VAUCHER, London
JOHN RUSSELL WALLACE, Kidderminster
JAMES WALLBANK, Sheffield
NICKY WEST, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
PAT WHITEREAD, London
PAUL WILLIAMS, Bradford
ALLAN WALKER, London



WHAT SOME OF THE ARTISTS SAY ABOUT THE EXHIBITION


AMANDA BENNETT: I was drawn to the Japanese artists exchange through my
interest in the No More Hiroshimas Campaign and a desire to stretch my
artistic skills in different spheres.


AL JOHNSON: I intend the work to be a tribute to those individuals who
are caught up in conflicts they had no part in creating, and over which
they had no control.


JOHN JOHNSON: It is impossible to express in words the horror of the
Hiroshima experience, because at that point in time, the world's
consciousness was shocked into ominous images, feelings and change,
about itself and the potential to destroy the human race.  It was also
about power, racism and superiority.


EMMA JONES: My intention is to explore instances of awareness of world
politics, the imagery in circulation and to touch upon ideas of representation.


MAEDBHINA McCOMBE: My concern with issues surrounding atrocities such as
Hiroshima are based on our personal response to media representation.
Often our response is a fascination, an obsession or a hunger to see more
images, hear and read more horrific stories.  However, we are filled with
guilt and shame at our yearning for visions of grotesque suffering. I
believe this response is linked to the detached way in which the news
reports are presented to us.  As we cannot identify directly, we keep
looking and searching for the reality.


EMRYS MORGAN: I question the need to harness an energy such as nuclear
fusion and the resultant 'chain reaction' into weapons of power and
destruction.  I believe we have to cleanse the world of such processes
and the misuse of power - who has the power - are they really necessary?


GEE VAUCHER: In its contrary swings from beauty to madness, the human
spirit is an enigma; bound in its human form, it becomes a thorn in the
side of love.  For most of my life I have carried around images both of
its graciousness and its horror.  In particular, the charred images of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, confused yet somehow classical, carry a poignancy
that those behind the shutter could never have perceived.


NICKY WEST: I feel it is appropriate to explore the nuclear bombing of
Japan, which is perhaps the single 'greatest' technological invention and
at the same time the greatest monster.  When there is a war raging today
between the US and Japan over world domination of production and trade in
new technologies, this is more important than ever.

S.T.A.R.T. Strategic Art Regeneration Tour - No More Hiroshimas

The Japanese Artists

THE DESIRE AND SELF-RESTRAINT, Kiminari Hashimoto, Concept book

PHOTOGRAPHY, Yasushi Kazuta

NO MORE WORLD, Saitou Kouhei: Watercolour

PLEASE PROTECT ME BECAUSE I WANT TO PROTECT YOU,
Noriko Tanaka: Candy, glass, paraffin paper

1,000 'WASHI' CRANES, Kyoko Sugai: In the Peace Park in Hiroshima is a
statue of Sadako Sasaki, a victim of the atom bomb.  She stands with her
hand held high holding a paper crane.  In Japan we say that if a person
makes a thousand paper cranes that person will not die.  Sadako Sasaki
died with only 36 left to make.  One can only hope that the lessons
learned through experience will ensure that there will be no more Hiroshimas.

UNTITLED, Akiyo Tsubakihara: Cloth, paint and mixed media

DOUBLE MOMENT, Hamabe Yumi: Silkscreen


The British Artists

SHED SOME LIGHT, Amanda Bennett: Using perspex and acrylic paint,
I have produced four panel images that depict symbols of the causes and effects
of war which combine to express my response to the atrocity of the Nuclear
Holocaust.


MIXED MEDIA - UNTITLED, Donna Best: In general the work is concerned with
how war is reported and recorded in "print" for the public.  Looking at
ideas of propaganda and manipulation: of historical perspective; of viewpoints
and the changing qualities of memory from the personal individual to a
national conscience.

INSTALLATION, Adam Brown: The piece consists of a wooden table, found or
constructed, large enough for a person to occupy the space beneath it.  The
process by which the work is constructed will dictate its final form.
The top of the table is to be used as a frame for casting four sheets of
lead such that their positioning under the lip of the tabletop, resting
on the floor, blocks off the space under the table and creates an interior.

MEMORIAL TO THE UNKNOWN MOTHER, Al Johnson: This work will illustrate the
universal nature of suffering, the irony that the grief suffered by war
victims differs little from one nation to another and has no regard for
cultural or ideological divisions.  A series of four uniform, glass fronted,
mixed media constructions, will be mounted horizontally on a wall.  In each,
found and made objects, images and texts combine to symbolise a mother;
Jewish, German, British and Japanese.

WHO IS NO.1, John Johnson: A scratch video called 'Who is No.1?'  This is
not only anti-war and anti-racist but also explores other universal human
dilemmas, such as ecology, religion, power and the misuse of technology,
to relate how horrors like Hiroshima come about.

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY, Emma Jones: Three images composed of digitally processed
photographic imagery and textiles.  Starting with a reference to days when
the world was 'mostly pink', through perceptions of the Gulf war to the
chaotic picture of war, aid and peacekeeping today.

LAMENT, Simon Lake: For this exhibition I propose to create a
painting that responds to conflict and it's consequences.  It will be
based on themes of containment, oppression and transition expressing the
idea that our vocabulary and messages become obliterated by violence and
suppression.

PHOTOGRAPHY, Joanna Logan-Sinclair: No More Hiroshimas!

WASH WITH FIRE, Maedbhina McCombe: I intend to produce a series of images
which are developed out of a personal response to the issues surrounding
Hiroshima.  My aim is to present constructed photographs that may be seen
and understood as images of war, of genocide without the visual reality
of images taken from the media.  My images are entirely created and can be
viewed without guilt or shame, yet understood as a genuine response to a
very real issue.

FAT BOY, Conal Meyler: Painting, oil on canvas.

SHADOW, Emrys Morgan: I work with 'stuff ' - manipulating, selecting,
organising so that new associations arise through the interplay between
material, object and image.  I try to make work that questions the structures
society uses, the methods by which it conducts itself and how it views itself.
This work deals with the rise of nuclear energy from its source - nuclear
fusion in weapons, the continued use of the nuclear industry to provide raw
material for weapons of destruction.

PAINTINGS, Gee Vaucher: Young men lining the ditches of the American Civil War,
clutching their flag of allegiance - dead Russians frozen forever in postures
of retreat - the reaching arms of the falling Spaniard, rifle in hand - the
Tommy with mud, blood and madness in his eyes - the Napalm of Vietnam -
the charred images of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  In particular these images of
atomic bombs, confused yet somehow classical, carry a poignancy that those
behind the shutter could never have perceived.

IN PRAISE OF SUN TZU AND ERIC FROMM, Alan Walker: There have been at least 150
wars since the end of the second world war in 1945.  My work is a call to
painting, to the arms of the brush and the palette knife, to the power for
self discovery and peaceful change.

UNTITLED - PAINTINGS, Russell John Wallace: A television screen is the central
focus area in each area in each painting.  The screen shows film footage and
scenes of Hiroshima.  Around the television are family photographs and images
from the tradition of European Art History.  The format of the paintings is
that of still life, so the irony is that the footage of Hiroshima has now become
a painting and is now part of that tradition.

UNTITLED - STEEL ASSEMBLAGE, James Wallbank: Computer scientists and
mathematicians are making new discoveries that ordered structures emerge
spontaneously from chaos, just as the first living cells were generated by the
disordered soup of pre-biological earth.  Rather than dwelling on the past,
my work embodies the emergence of new ideas from the wreckage of the past.
I want my use of the rusting, torn, battered and the discard to point the
viewer not towards the past but towards the future.  I intend the piece to
be encouraged to rust throughout its exhibition, so that the image will
change and develop throughout the show.

AIRFIELD BUFFET BENEATH THE COCONUT PALMS AT CHRISTMAS ISLAND, 1957, Nicky West:
Wall panels which explore the fusion of modernist science and nature which
resulted in the bomb.  This urge towards self destruction which has become
so much a part of humanity, from the individual to global.  Some minute,
more personal details maybe set against the more obvious strong images of
the effects of nuclear weapons.  I will pursue a line of enquiry through
dialogue, cultural theory and my own observations, about the creation of
the bomb in relation to the crisis in masculinity.

NUCLEAR WINTER, Pat Whiteread: This will show the danger of nuclear warfare
and its aftermath.  It will be fronted by the aspects of the military and
nuclear threat and has at its core the sphere of domesticity and will be
the first assimilation of images of my family so that "the personal will
become political".

RUNNING MAN, Paul Williams: Made from carved wood joined together, covered in
willow branches and set in a steel rod frame.


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