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Address
West Bretton,
Wakefield,
West Yorkshire,
WF4 4LG
Also at this Venue
Events at this Venue
date | event |
---|---|
Sat 22 Jun - Fri 1 Apr | Damien Hirst |
Sat 21 Sep - Fri 1 Apr | Alfredo Jaar |
Wed 29 Jul - Sun 9 Jan | Joana Vasconcelos |
Tue 1 Dec - Wed 31 Mar | Miró: Prints |
Sat 9 Jan - Fri 1 Apr | Hardeep Sahota: Bhangra Lexicon |
Details
Charity (2002-2003), Myth (2010), The Hat Makes the Man (2004-2007) and The Virgin Mother (2005-2006) came to YSP as part of Yorkshire Sculpture International (YSI), a festival of sculpture which took place across Leeds and Wakefield from 22 June until 29 September 2019.
Hirst's ten-metre- tall The Virgin Mother stands against the backdrop of the Lower Lake, a powerful presence in the landscape. Referencing the stance of Degas’s Little Dancer of Fourteen Years (c.1881), the sculpture’s cross-section reveals the foetus curled within the womb.
Charity, on display near the recently opened Weston building, is recognisable as based on Scope collection boxes which were commonly seen on British high streets between the 1960s and 1970s. A young girl wearing a calliper forlornly cradles a teddy bear and a donations box which reads ‘please give generously’. The work questions historic and outdated ways of depicting disability and seeking charity.
Outside The Weston, Myth presents a white unicorn with half of its skin flayed to reveal vibrant red, pink and yellow musculature and tissues. Hirst often takes religious or mythical figures as his subjects, unpicking and disrupting their familiar narratives. Horses have been an artistic subject for millennia and, referencing this tradition, Hirst’s unicorn stands high on a classical plinth. Like all works in this display, Myth makes a playful nod to art history.
Back towards Lower Lake, The Hat Makes the Man is based on a 1920 collage of the same name by Surrealist artist Max Ernst. Ernst’s work is comprised of cut-out images of hats absurdly reassembled in stacks with intentionally phallic-like supports. It is thought to have been inspired by Sigmund Freud’s book The Joke and Its Relation to the Unconscious (1905), in which Freud describes the hat as a symbol of repressed male desire. Hirst renders Ernst’s work in three dimensions, using bronze casts of wooden pallets as supports and thereby introducing the idea of sculptural collage or assemblage. As with The Virgin Mother, Hirst’s materials are hidden. In the former works, the bronze is painted to emulate plastic and with The Hat the casting precisely imitates painted wood. The artist thereby plays with the grandeur associated with bronze.
Event details
Dates | Times |
---|---|
Sat 22 Jun 2019 - Fri 1 Apr 2022 |
Directions
Map reference: SE 282130 Lat: 53.61278 Long: -1.57521
By Road:
The best postcode for sat nav is WF4 4JX.
From Wakefield City Centre: Take the A637 from Wakefield. Proceed through West Bretton village. At the next roundabout turn right and follow the road through to the YSP car park.
From Motorway North/South: Exit the M1 at Junc 38. Take the A637 and follow the YSP brown heritage signs for 1 mile. At the next roundabout turn left and follow the road through to the YSP car park.
From Motorway East/West: Leave the M62 at Junc 29 and take the M1 South towards Wakefield. Exit the M1 at Junc 38 and take the A637. Follow the YSP brown heritage signs for 1 mile. At the next roundabout turn left and follow the road through to the YSP car park.
By Public Transport:
Nearest Railway Station: Wakefield Westgate Railway Station (7 miles)
Nearest Bus Station: Wakefield Bus Station (7 miles)
Bus Route: Tate Travel Service No. 96 runs Monday–Saturday between Wakefield and Barnsley, with regular stops at YSP.
Parking: free
Accessible by Public Transport: 7 miles from Wakefield Westgate station
Nearby
Facilities
Baby changing facilities
Coach parties accepted
Credit cards accepted (no fee)
Disabled toilets
Education/study area
Facilities for groups
Facilities for educational visits
Gift shop
On-site catering
On-site light refreshments
Picnic site
Regional Tourist Board Member
Wheelchairs available
Accepts groups
Facilities for conferencing
Facilities for corporate hospitality