A 1000 metre-long pink ribbon has been wrapped around the RWA and a couple of neighbouring buildings.
The site-responsive piece is called Negotiating Space and is the idea of acclaimed Bristol artist Luke Jerram, responding to a new exhibition of textiles at the gallery and attempting to draw new visitors inside the building.
The 20cm-wide ribbon runs across the exterior of the Queen’s Road gallery, enters through windows and wraps around nearby lampposts and trees, as well as continuing onto the University of Bristol’s Beacon House and Victoria Methodist Church either side of the RWA.
Luke Jerram’s new site-specific work responds to a new exhibition inside the RWA – photo: Martin Booth
RWA director Ren Renwick said: “This is one of the RWA’s most ambitious – and longest – artworks to date and we are so proud to present it.
“I love its invitation to come inside and discover the RWA, and the way it connects the RWA to our neighbours and the public realm around us.
“Negotiating Space is also a brilliant public statement for our current programme that is celebrating and amplifying textile art.”
RWA chair and former Bristol mayor George Ferguson has previously worked with Jerram on a number of projects, including the installation of a water slide down Park Street in 2014.
Ferguson said: “The RWA has great ambition to reach out much more into the city.
“This connecting with our friends, the university and the Methodist church next door signifies our ambition to be a major part of this city.”
The work continues along one side of Whiteladies Road – Photo: Martin Booth
Jerram said that the artwork “is a bit of an experiment, and I think to be an artist you have to be willing to experiment and take risks”.
The name Negotiating Space originates from the idea that the piece is “about connecting organisations”.
“We’ve had to have all those conversations to connect everybody up. I hope the public enjoy it.”
Artist Luke Jerram says the installation is “about connecting organisations” – photo: Alastair Brookes
Main photo: Martin Booth
Read next:
