Exhibition 07/8

5.30/1864

2007/8

Press release

On 24th November 1864 around 5.30pm a force 10 gale wrecked two ships and claimed 32 lives on the Black Middens at the mouth of the river Tyne. These tragic events led to the construction of the historic Watchhouse and the founding of England’s first Volunteer Life Brigade at Tynemouth.

5.30:1864 marks the one hundred and forty-third anniversary of the catastrophe by revisiting this historic event from a contemporary perspective, using abstract imagery to reinterpret local historic accounts.

Mooney beautifully combines found organic material and pigments collected from the Tyne to create complex, sculptured surface textures that capture the powerful essence of the wild North Sea. His fractured, blue-green abstract images evoke a sense of being drawn into a dark, angry, swirling maelstrom, triggering tragic memories of loss at sea, of wreck and aftermath. These multi-layered works seem to reflect the drama of man’s often-fragile relationship with nature, creating a romantic sense of the sublime, reminiscent of the awesome beauty of the violent power of nature in many of Turner’s vortex-like sea paintings.

5.30:1864 invites viewers to take a contemporary look at a fascinating slice of local maritime heritage and contemplate the overwhelming power of nature. As part of the exhibition programme, Mooney will conduct two guided

walks that offer participants the chance to experience the scene of the tragedy at first hand.

Mooney conceived the theme for this new work from the original writings of Mr James Gilbert, coxswain of Tynemouth’s Lifeboat Constance1864 and from the accounts of the Shields Daily News from that date. He said, “I heard of the disaster a few years ago and realised it was relatively unknown within North Shields. This is an important part of our local history and it needs to be retold, as it rallied the local populous of that time to create England’s first Volunteer Life Brigade, something we should all be proud of.”

Thanks go to: Arts Council England’s Grants for the Arts Programme, Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade’s Captain Dave Bell and Glass Artist Matt Jobling for their invaluable assistance in realising this new body of work.