After Schools
Summary Update 3
One of the longer running projects has been the work by Gate Acre Comp.
We have now selected 15 artworks by the pupils which have been engraved onto alcohol bottles – these 15 represent the 15 minute interval between each alcohol related death in the UK. The pieces depict a range of collages showing varied notions about drink, being drunk and the harsh results that alcohol misuse can lead to. The bottles are to be filled with coloured liquids much like the old pharmacy window displays (we think this was an indicator that the Pharmacist was able to mix medicines from scratch) – they will also be accompanied by 15 coloured LED lights which will highlight the 15 minute timescale.
The piece hopes to go on display at TBC.
Gateacre Update…
The pupils of Gateacre Comp have made good progress with their Alcohol statistic pieces and have culminated their idea for the final piece.
The work will comprise of 90 bottles – each one representing an alcohol related fatality – some of these will be decorated with collaged ideas about the use, misuse and effects of alcohol – all of them will be lit with a coloured LED light and every 15 minutes one light will go out, representing a death. All 90 lights will extinguish in the path of a day and will be re-lit for the next day.
The piece plans to be shown in Childwall Health Centre in April.
90 Green Bottles…
Pupils at Gateacre comp continued their exploration of Alcohol statistics and started to experiment with representing the 90 people a day that die from alcohol related incidents. These ‘people’ are to be contained in bottles and a best approach was explored from drawing to collage to model making.
Message in a Bottle
Back with the pupils of Gateacre comp this week after the half term break – we focused on the theme of the piece.
Alcohol abuse is a key issue for the PCT with 1 in 7 drinkers in Liverpool drinking at levels that will harm their health.
We had a brainstorm and discussion around the whole world of alcohol, what it meant to people, it’s effects, how it’s presented and consumed – this was to give us ample material to resource from. During the session several of the group were sketching and doodling and a common theme appeared – the idea of containment within a bottle…
We are looking to marry this idea with the PCT statistic that in the UK approx 90 people die every day from an alcohol related reason (33,000 a year) and there are 121 alcohol-related hospital admissions per hour. We aim to build a piece that will communicate these figures in an interesting and impact driven way. Next week we finalise our approach and get building!
Netherley Youth and Community Initiative
On Tuesday we spent an afternoon and evening with Netherley Youth and Community Initiative (NY&CI) Afterschool and Youth club. We had a good turn out of about 40 girls and boys aged between 4 and 13. They worked on creating some portraits of themselves as a warm up and then explored the 5 ways to wellbeing as inspiration for their own pieces for the bus displays. They focused on things and activities they liked or made them feel good. We had a wide range, with strange fruits to ballerinas to representation from the the boys of ‘Nev’.
We’re back with them again soon…
On the Buses – thanks to Arriva!
We now have the agreement to place works on Arriva buses throughout March! With thanks to Debra and Derek from the Speke Depot there will be pieces appearing on the 79, 80, 82, 86 and 89 routes in a few weeks time.
A host of the work will be coming from St Gregory’s After School and Youth Group in Netherley – with ages ranging between 4 and 19 we hope to get a wide representation of the 5 ways to showcase on the routes. Some sneek previews will appear online soon.
