THE clocks have changed, the nights have closed in and darkness is all the rage.
Seeing in the Dark is a group exhibition organised by Circa, the innovative visual arts organisation set up by Adam Phillips and Sam Watson.
The North East pair last featured on these pages in March when they were showing a series of films made by artists, including one featuring the actress Keira Knightley, at the Stephenson Works behind Newcastle Central Station.
This latest show sees them inhabit another characterful city centre space, the fourth floor of Curtis Mayfield House, Carliol Square (near the old Worswick Street bus station), which used to be the Globe Gallery.
Together with co-curator Steven Ball, who is also an artist, writer and research fellow at the Artists’ Film & Video Study Collection in London, they have drawn together the work of more than 25 contemporary artists.
In particular the show looks at the legacy of two pioneering groups of artists – the Ayton Basement Group followed by the Basement Group – which put Tyneside at the cutting edge of contemporary art in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Adam explains: “With the Turner Prize (at Baltic) bringing attention to contemporary art made inside and outside of the region, Seeing in the Dark investigates the creative relationship that existed between London and Newcastle at this innovative time.”
He adds that it makes connections with similar artist-led spaces in London, such as 2B Butler’s Wharf, and artists working today whose output “resonates with the playful and adventurous spirit of these places and times”.
The siting of the exhibition is poignant, Adam adds, because it overlooks the bottom end of Pilgrim Street, where the Basement Group used to hang out and which is scheduled for demolition.
In the spirit of the old Basement Group exhibitions, a programme of performances and live events has been taking part alongside the exhibition which features the work of, among others, Jon Bewley, Ian Breakwell, Richard Grayson, Emma Hart, John Kippin and Belinda Williams.
The exhibition runs until Saturday when there will be a performance by Cara Tolmie from 6pm to 9pm.
The gallery is open Wednesday to Saturday, 11am to 5pm. For more details about Circa, visit the website www.circaprojects.org