Friends of Rochdale Art Gallery: Jenny’s egg

Ostrich egg

The Friends of Rochdale Art Gallery (FRAG) met at Touchstones on Thursday 11 May 2023.

Guest speaker FRAG chair Jenny Buckley introduced the upcoming exhibitions:

• Shezad Dawood’s premiere of the latest episode of his epic film series Leviathan Cycle, titled Episode 8: Cris, Sandra, Papa & Yasmine, alongside related textiles, paintings, and research material. Set in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, this charts an embodied, spiritual, and ecological journey along the age-old Guarani path that links the forest to the sea.
• Helene Appel creates images that straddle the threshold between realism, sculpture, and abstraction. Her work explores the inherent aesthetic qualities of ordinary objects This exhibition will feature key works from Appel’s career alongside a new series of paintings inspired by the streets of Rochdale.

These will run from 3 June – 12 August 2023, following which Touchstones will close for refurbishment for about 18 months.

Jenny then went on to present a fascinating impromptu ‘Show and Tell’. Within her wicker basket was an egg – an empty ostrich egg. When the Victorian Curate was asked whether he had got a bad egg, he replied ‘Oh no, I assure you! Parts of it are excellent!’ But Jenny’s egg story was excellent, resounding with memories of her early teaching in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Of further interest was the remarkable long necklace she had been presented with, handmade from tiny durable ostrich eggshell fragments, individually pierced, and linked together with natural fibres. Amazing.

Coming soon at Friends of Rochdale Art Gallery:

Thursday 8 June – speaker Karen Lyons of the Ebor Studio Littleborough
Thursday 13 July – A visit to the Ebor Studio Littleborough

FRAG organises talks and trips and helps to support the gallery – including contributing to acquisitions and conservation works and enabling the recent successful ‘A Tall Order’ exhibition.

Dr Joe Dawson

FRAG meets on the second Thursday in the month, usually at Touchstones. Tea, coffee & biscuits served from 1pm. Guest speaker from 1.30pm - 2.30pm. Members £3, non-members £4 on the door.

All welcome. Annual membership is only £10 and you will be supporting your local art gallery and get discounted rates on talks and trips organised by the Friends and invitations to private views for exhibitions.

For further details please contact Jenny Buckley (chair, FRAG) 01706 358686 or Touchstones 01706 924555.