You can now reserve your slot for a free art exhibition in Macclesfield's Christ Church for Barnaby Bright.

Barnaby Bright is a collection of midsummer events that will take place

this June around the summer solstice in the historic spaces of

Macclesfield town centre, brought to you by the team at Barnaby

Festival.

Presence is a new large-scale, site-specific commission by Liz West that

will be situated in grade II* listed Christ Church on Bridge Street in

Macclesfield.

Liz West is a British visual artist based in the North West, who creates

works combining the phenomena of colour and light to create a sensory

experience. In a matter of days, she will be coming to Macclesfield.

Christ Church is a Georgian Anglican church dating from 1775. Presence

will transform the space taking the form of a tunnel, created from iridescent dichroic panels creating a kaleidoscopic artery down the centre of the church.

The tunnel, which will be made up of 450 squares covered in the colour transmitting dichroic film, will be open at one end to allow visitors to walk in it and become immersed in the work.

One side of the tunnel will feature cool colours ranging from purples through to greens and blues and on the other they will be warm corals, pinks and yellows.

Liz West says: "I want my work to be arresting and for viewers to be present in the moment and immersed in the work, responding to colour

and light again and removed from the everyday."

There are five considerations that West considers when making work

and they are; creating vivid colour; mixing luminous light; creating an

immersive experience; ensuring the work responds to the environment;

and to create a sensory experience for the viewer.

"For Presence, I started by looking at the aisle of the church. It is a

physical parade consisting of a tunnel that is three metres tall and 14

metres long.

"When you stand at the end of the tunnel you can look up at the stained

glass windows through the wall of colour making a meditative and

spiritual experience."

The reflective and refractive nature of the material will project coloured

light across the entire space, helping to reveal parts of the architecture

that would otherwise be missed.

Macclesfield's Christ Church is an impressive space and West wanted to ensure the work held its own - Presence responds to the space with grandeur.

Liz West is returning to Barnaby this summer as alumni as she previously

exhibited in 2013 with her work Consumed.

Using found, discarded and recycled consumables, such as bottles, which were arranged to resemble a scape of detritus and were presented in illuminated acrylic cases.

Consumed was located in a disused shop in Macclesfield's The Grosvenor Centre.

Liz says: "It is great to be coming back to Macclesfield. My work has

developed a lot since I first exhibited here. I also have a better

understanding of the town and the dynamism the area has to offer.

"It's on the edge of the Peak District National Park with everything from

bakeries to breweries and an interesting artistic community.

"Barnaby has presented work from quality International artists over the

last ten years and it is great to be part of that."

Dr Abi Gilmore, Co Chair Of Barnaby Festival, said: "We are so thrilled to

be able to present Liz West's work in the beautiful Christ Church in the

heart of Macclesfield.

"We couldn't ask more from a Barnaby arts commission than to provide

people with a transcending immersive experience from such a brilliant

and internationally renowned artist, just at the moment in midsummer

when we are able to come back together, reflect and celebrate the arts

and heritage of our town.

Liz West graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 2007 and her work has

been exhibited nationally and internationally. For this event only, she comes to Macclesfield.

Currently Liz is showing Hundreds and Thousands a commission from Greenwich Peninsula for The Tide.

The artwork wraps 700 metres of the walkway's glass balustrades,

creating a ribbon of undulating colour.

The installation contemplates the

subtle nuances of light at the riverside location as we transition from

spring to summer.

Visitors will be able to see Presence at Christ Church, Bridge Street in

Macclesfield from June 17 to June 27.

Presence will be free and open to the public, but it is recommended you book a slot to avoid disappointment.

Social distancing restrictions will mean that attendance per allotted slot will be kept low.

The times for the Macc art exhibit are as follows:

June 18th, 19th, 20th 25th, 26th, 27th from 12noon to 20.00

June 17th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th from 16.00 to 20.00

The 15-minute timeslots can be booked online - with a maximum of six people in a bubble/group.

Presence is part of a collection of midsummer events for Barnaby Bright

brought to you by the team at Barnaby Festival.

All events will be delivered with measures in place to comply with COVID-19 restrictions. Social distancing will be monitored carefully.

Tickets for other Barnaby events be bought on Barnaby Festival's website.

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