Mark Riddington at 18 East Parade

Check out Mark Riddington’s exhibition at 18 East Parade. ‘A Ghost of a Faded Engraving’

Mark Riddington’s work references astronomy, prehistory, and the occult. He works in dyed plaster, concrete and clay, often referencing astronomical phenomena, and celestial bodies, all of which are key issues when thinking about the history of drawing.

Stars are points in space and when we look at them we see patterns. If we could stare at the stars all night we would see that they trace linear paths across the sky. Riddington dyes plaster to create blocks of blackness, these are cut through with lines infilled in white.

By restricting the image to just one line we can concentrate on the quality of the line and at the same time focus on the work's concept.  Making the blocks out of concrete heightens the objectness of the support, and by incising the line into the concrete, the issue of surface/ground is again questioned, the line now being part of the ground, rather than something placed on it.  The precision of the line's curve suggests the geometry of the event, the fact that it is just a fragment of a much larger circle, suggesting that the work is referring to something that is itself a fragment of a much larger, perhaps universal concept. 

Stars and their movements were vital to the positioning of temples, this image below is of a stone inserted into the doorway of a temple dedicated to the God Ninlil, and is thousands of years old. The technique used is white inlay, in black stone.

Riddington's work allows us to think about some of the central issues of Modernism, (abstraction, painting as object, use of materials) and yet link these to age old concerns, (the sky as a realm of the gods, the occult, astrology etc). 

This post is also a reminder that it is also important to keep an eye of what is happening in the smaller art spaces in Leeds. This exhibition is promoted by 'Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun', an organisation as art students you should be aware of  because they also have studio spaces as well as operating a curatorial umbrella. 

Exhibition open: 

Thursday 3 November 2016, 18:30 till Thursday 17 November 2016, 18:30

(Nb. I have no information as to specific times and particular days of opening, beyond the opening and closing dates, so it might be worth trying to check first before setting off with STCFTHOTS before going)

18 East Parade: LS1 2BH