Cassie Howard
Swings & Roundabouts
October 23rd – November 20th 2009
Private View: Thursday 22nd October 6-8pm
Late night opening on Friday 23rd October 7-9pm
the third space is pleased to present a new series of works by Cassie Howard exploring our relationship to urban parks. Parks and open spaces have long been understood that they contribute to the sustainability of our towns and cities and are once again being recognised as an important element in people’s quality of life.
Howard’s work is drawn from the history and the daily use of Victoria Park in the East End of London where she lives close by. Victoria Park is the oldest public park in Britain it was built in 1842 and from the start was used as a meeting place for those working to improve industrial and social conditions.
In 1848 the Chartists (an influential movement that pressed for parliamentary reforms and wider democracy) held an enormous rally in the park, decades later, during the Great Dock Strike of 1889, local Dockers used the park as a meeting place. During World War II the park was cultivated to grow food and today the park remains at the heart of the East End and plays host to music events and community festivals.
Howard’s paintings depict permanent and temporary structures located within this constructed urban landscape, bandstands, drinking fountains and fairground attractions. These architectural features are shown isolated from their surroundings taken out of context likewise her depiction of the people using the park are also removed from their immediate environment. The work questions our relationship with the space its social function and our pursuit of leisure.
For information and additional images please contact; Hugh Mulholland on 0044 (0) 2890 237757 or hugh@thethirdspacegallery.com
the third space, suite 11&12, Scottish Mutual Building,16 Donegall Square South, Belfast BT1 5JA
Gallery Opening Hours – Monday – Friday 11am – 5pm, Closed 1pm – 2pm, Saturday by Appointment
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