The Grimm Forest

28th September – The Grimm Forest (October 2019 – February 2020, Gibson Mill, First Floor) 

The Grimm Forest is a paper forest conjured from a book.

It’s a large, walk-through kinetic sculpture, with images from Grimms’ stories presented in exciting ways, designed to appeal to children and adults.

Originally commissioned by the Royal Festival Hall, South Bank Centre, London, under the title Leaves Among Thorns, Steve Gumbley and Jane Revitt were invited to create an installation based on the tales of the Brothers Grimm.

After The South Bank Centre it toured to many galleries and public spaces, including Stirling Arts Centre, Thatcham Discovery Centre, The Harris Gallery in Preston, Dean Clough Galleries in Halifax and Schloss Haigerloch in Germany.

The Grimm Forest is richly pictorial and accessible to all ages. It’s a group of eleven tree sculptures, seven of which slowly revolve to create a forest of changing images. Four more static trees have benches with speaking tubes, which tell different Grimms’ stories. The stories are told by the distinctive voice of Nabil Shaban- a Jordanian-British actor and writer who founded the renowned Graeae Theatre Co.

Reading through these classic tales, the artists selected those with strong imagery and good examples of recurring themes. As well as some old favourites, the artists have also depicted less well-known tales.

Eleven stories have been presented in the exhibition:

The Golden Goose; The Twelve Princes; Mother Hulda; Tom Thumb; The Giant with the Three Golden Hairs; Rumpelstiltskin; Queen Bee;Little Red Riding Hood; The Porridge Pot; The Fisherman and his Wife; and finally, Jorinda and Joringel.