The Motorway Service Station…
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Photography tutor, Andrew Conroy, has created the piece above entitled ‘The Drive’ in which poet Simon Armitage reads his own poem ‘Gymnasium’ with music by Ian Baxter. The poem is from a collection called ‘The Motorway Service Station as Destination in its own Right’ and Andrew has curated an exhibition of the same name Bank Street Arts in Sheffield. This is a group show and Andrew has assembled a fascinating mix of work from photographers such as Si Barber (who might be familiar to OCA students from his WeAreOCA interview from 2011) and Sam Mellish.
Andrew will be hosting a study visit at the Gallery on Saturday 15 June and as an added bonus will take students around a tour of the Sheffield Hallam Photography Degree Show afterwards. To book a place on the study visit email enquiries@oca-uk.com
Even if you can’t make it, Andrew would be interested in comments on The Drive
7 thoughts on “The Motorway Service Station…”
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Shame there’s another study visit on the same day…
Same day, but 150 miles away John. We try to provide the widest range of study visit opportunities.
It’s the same day as Sheffield University Open Day. This will make car parking more difficult in the park and ride.
This is useful information Jim.
As an aside, in addition to seeking to balance study visits across the curriculum and geographically, we tend to avoid visits at locations which are inaccessible by public transport.
… The Drive…… and the collarboration with The Motorway Service Station where Simon Armitage reads his poem ‘Gymnasium’ … how emotional and deep. I really enjoyed the experience, thank you. wish that i could enjoy the tour of the Sheffield Hallam Photography Degree Show, pity that I live in Spain and probably can not make it.
‘The Drive’ was haunting, stirring, meditative and emotive. Intertwining the thought provoking and dream-inducing poem (I loved it and the writer was also a fine reader) along with the steady vibrations of the alien-like modern music, produced a well-rounded piece. I was drawn to it; I viewed it five times. I particularly liked the blurred, foggy, rain-swept, veiled shots–so often it’s the fuzzy, softened images we collect along a tiring lengthy drive. It wouldn’t have seemed natural for the images to have been up close or perfectly clear…unless the car had stopped altogether. It took on the feel of a car in motion and the loneliness that can often accompany. I had only wondered about the placement of two photos–dividing the drive’s light continuously through the hours. I wasn’t absolutely clear as to the continuance of the time of day, in relation to the light in two photos. I certainly could be wrong–and certainly the moonlight can shift, etc. The piece is stunning. Overall–it’s outstanding. I’ve been pulled in–and would expect others to feel the same. It’s engaging on multiple levels. I will return to view it again!