WEST Belfast born and bred Ted Pim is currently exhibiting in London's Almine Rech Gallery. 'Never Odd or Even' focuses on mirrored images and the work is inspired by Dutch old masters, Baroque and Renaissance paintings. But as Ted creates his own reality the colour and echoes of modern life sneak into them.
It's great to see his second solo show at Almine Rech and how his career is taking off in such great strides after his sold-out debut show at the Salon Gallery in Los Angeles in 2020. On a visit to his studio he told me how after graduation he worked for a graphic design company but found it too restrictive, so he stepped into the world of being a studio artist full time. And isn't it wonderful to see it working out for him?
Ted Pim is at Almine Rech Gallery London until May 18.
Meanwhile, Belfast is hosting its annual Sonorities Festival of sound and music. It's all about performances scattered around the city, many of them free, heavily focused on the Queen's Sonic Art Research Centre off the Lisburn Road, an award-winning facility that attracts sound artists from all around the globe.
Always an interesting event is the Handmade Music Night at Accidental Theatre, where you get to witness fascinating collaborations and the magic and mayhem that can occur.
The Sonorities Festival runs until Saturday.
Technology is emerging from St Joseph's Church, Sailortown, where digital artist Katya Solomatina has been working with the Sailortown Regeneration Group and an expert team to find innovative ways to preserve heritage and local stories of the local maritime tradition.
The initiative includes digital sculpting, artificial intelligence, photogrammetry, sound recording and improvisational storytelling to create immersive experiences. Traditional clay, paper and felt tips are also in the mix. The result is 'Memory Anchors', which includes a digital trail and immersive experience.
The expert team referred to has been Elaine McGinn, Ivan Isakov, Zan Dani, Luke Lucas and myself. We all know this sometimes overlooked part of the city has many treasures in the people who live there and this promises to add pulling power to the area. Just watch out for the ballerina which is one of the attractions. Katya has thanked the Nightingale singing sessions and the folk sessions at the American Bar for the music that became part of the project. The end result promises to be lively.
Katya – co-director at Platform Arts and formerly of the Flax project space – is of Russian extraction but has made Belfast her home after graduating from Trinity College Dublin. 'Salad Curse' at Pssquared Gallery showed some of her potential in mixing the virtual and real worlds and she has been working for three months in Sailortown engaging with local residents in developing ideas.
Memory Anchors runs from Saturday until August 31. There's a preview on Friday from 5.30pm to 8pm and a family friendly community event will run on Saturday from noon to 4pm, also at St Joseph's, Sailortown.
The project is part of the Maritime Mile and Hub-NI Belfast development and is supported by Belfast City Council and the European Horizons 2020 Programme.
