The longstanding friendship of artist Bryan Illsley and poet Christopher Reid has given rise to a number of limited edition artist’s books. Baa is the most recent, combining Reid’s poem of the same name, a re-imagining of the nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep, and prints of small paintings made by Illsley in response. The book has been produced by Tatjana Marsden.

As with many of Illsley and Reid’s creative collaborations, Baa was initially made as a gift for friends and supporters. But on this occasion visual designer and artist Alida Sayer has intervened, with the intention of creating a dialogue between their little-known joint activity and a wider gallery audience. With the consent of artist and poet she has translated their work from the condition of intimate study to a transporting immersive experience, where visitors are invited to enter a wondrous environment of still and changing images and text. The original artefact sits at its centre.

Bryan Illsley (b. 1937) studied at Kingston School of Art and was based in St Ives from the early 1960s until his return to London in 1986. In St Ives, alongside his own studio practice, he worked for the Leach Pottery before forming a partnership with Breon O’Casey making jewellery. Public collections that hold examples of his work include the Arts Council, Crafts Council, Contemporary Arts Society, Victoria & Albert Museum, Kettles Yard, Cambridge and the Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto.

Christopher Reid (b. 1949) has worked as a poetry editor at Faber & Faber and Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Hull. He was awarded the 2009 Costa Book Award for A Scattering, written as a tribute to his late wife, the actress Lucinda Gane. Previous books produced in collaboration with Bryan Illsley include Two Dogs on a Pub Roof (1996) and Broken Bones (2003). 

Alida Sayer (b. 1985) studied Visual Communication at Glasgow School of Art. Her work has been featured in numerous magazines and in books including 3D Typography by J. Abbink and E.C.M. Anderson (Mark Batty, 2010), Lettering – A Reference Manual of Techniques by Andrew Haslam (Laurence King, 2011) and Typoholic (Viction:ary, 2012). Exhibitions include There is no why (solo) in the Marsden Woo Gallery Project Space (2010) and Presence-Absence (2011) at Kingsland Road Studio. She has recently been shortlisted for the Design Week 2012 Rising Star Award. www.alidarosie.co.uk

Marsden Woo Project Space is curated by Tessa Peters. The exhibition is kindly sponsored by The Anthony Shaw Collection.

The Marsden Woo Project Space is a space for experimental new work in art, craft and design and runs alongside our established programme of solo and small group exhibitions by gallery artists. The Project Space allows us to respond quickly to significant bodies of innovative work, particularly that of talented emerging artists and designers, as well as fresh directions in the work of more established artists. The exhibitions are organized at short notice, so please check our website regularly for news on forthcoming shows and events.

Marsden Woo Gallery
17-18 great sutton street
London EC1V 0DN
+44(0)20 7336 6396
info@marsdenwoo.com
www.marsdenwoo.com

Opening hours
Tuesday to Friday 11:00 - 18:00
Saturday 11:00 - 16:00