Issue 85 / February 2018

“Arts engagement
should not just
be for those who
have the means
and time to reach
the city centre”
ARTS CENTRAL
In her continuing focus on the ways arts centres interact with our communities, Julia
Johnson looks across the Mersey to the WILLIAMSON ART GALLERY, whose work with
Birkenhead-based artist STEVE DES LANDES is indicative of positive local engagement.
It’s a few weeks before the opening of STEVE DES LANDES’
first solo exhibition in his adopted home town, and he’s
anxious. Having worked as an artist since the 1980s, des
Landes is one of the most significant artists painting in
the North West at the moment, but unknown to so many. It’s
perhaps not so unusual then that he questions his place in the
contemporary art world: “Why would someone be interested in
me?” he asks, half-jokingly. Over a cup of coffee and a wideranging
conversation in his studio, though, it’s a question which is
more than fairly answered.
Painting may be a traditional medium, but that doesn’t mean
it can’t be used for contemporary expression, and des Landes
is not an artist whose work has become comfortable over time.
If anything, experience has made him more determined to work
without compromise. “It doesn’t get technically easier to paint. But
it’s that struggle that keeps me alive. I paint pictures because I have
to: there’s this force that makes me carry on.” Our conversation
is peppered with references to his past experiences with the art
market’s preferences – and his refusal to change his vision to
meet its trends. It’s this desire to work away from these external
pressures that has kept des Landes from exhibiting for so long. And
as the art world continues its search for artists with an authentic
voice, rather than simply with the most fashionable means of
expression, des Landes has plenty of reason for optimism.
His exhibition is not taking place in Liverpool city centre, but
on the opposite shore of the Mersey, at the WILLIAMSON ART
GALLERY AND MUSEUM. Built in 1928 in what was the centre of
Birkenhead, its mission to be a welcoming space for all is literally
part of its architecture; single-storey, red-brick, familiar and
approachable rather than intimidating. After all, arts engagement
should not just be for those who have the means and time to
reach the city centre. Offering classes in skills from drawing to
silversmithing for all ages and abilities, Principal Museums Officer
Colin Simpson is proud of the Williamson’s support for “the best
of what’s happening in our community – both historically and
currently.” This is important: it makes creative activity something
which doesn’t just happen ‘somewhere else’, but something we
all have access to. The ethos of accessibility the building was
designed for extends into the exhibition spaces, where projects
like Joseph Venning’s Transformation Station give visitors the
opportunity to make comments which have a have a genuine
impact on the gallery’s exhibitions.
One of the region’s hidden gems, the Williamson is an
inviting gallery and museum space with plenty of heritage. Set up
and funded by shipping magnates-turned-philanthropists John
and Patrick Williamson (father and son), the centre houses the
largest public collection of Della Robbia pottery (locally produced
Art Deco ceramics that became the toast of the world at the turn
of the 20th Century) in the UK, and an extensive collection of
work by landscape painter Wilson Steer. Its 14 gallery spaces
mean it can host a variety of permanent collections alongside
touring exhibitions and workshops for a range of community
groups. Nestled in between Birkenhead town centre and the
picturesque village of Oxton, the elegant building is within easy
reach of thousands of day-trippers and residents – it is also the
perfect entry point for hundreds of local school students, many
of whom get their first taste of gallery life via the Williamson’s
renowned education outreach programme.
For his part, des Landes is delighted to be working with
the Williamson for his first exhibition in the town he now calls
home. He approves of their commitment to bringing art into its
community, away from what he refers to as the “bullshit glitz”
of the art market he’s experienced in the past. But he’s also
delighted to have the space to “let the work speak for itself.” The
gallery’s design means that they can – and frequently do – offer
more wall space to mid-career artists and community arts groups
than any other gallery in the North West. This is ideal for des
Landes, who is extremely interested in having a dialogue with his
audience about what his works actually mean. On first glance,
you might think that the figures and landscapes which occupy his
brilliantly executed canvases have a lesson to impart. But upon
closer inspection, it’s not possible to define exactly what this may
be. On the walls of the Williamson’s gallery space, the figures
look dream-like, searching for a meaning – a meaning for the
viewer to bestow. Des Landes’ own hopes for the longevity of his
show depend on the audience’s interaction with it.
“I’d like them to give me an interpretation. I need them to
understand what it is I’m doing!” Creating his works from what
he calls “an unconscious pull”, it’s always positive to talk to an
artist who is more invested in his audience’s interpretation of the
work than attachment to a particular intention.
Des Landes may surprise himself with “what ideas [he]
pulls out” artistically, but he is anything but unfocused. As our
conversation continues, it becomes clear that he is extremely
engaged with the social issues of the day. He’s seen the Liverpool
creative spaces he’s worked in from the 1980s eroded, pushed
further to the margins for the sake of gentrification, and he
worries about what it means for the creative future of the city.
He worries about “generation rent”, is a fan of Jeremy Corbyn.
It’s a conversation which puts to bed any questions about
his relevance to a contemporary audience. He might not be
addressing these issues explicitly in his works, but he is working
with an attitude of contemporary feeling and engagement with
issues relevant to his local community. It’s this willingness to
engage, this desire for his audience to feel empowered, that
makes his partnership with the Williamson so ideal, and that will
be the success of this show. !
Words: Julia Johnson / messylines.com
Photography: Lisa Waldman and Dave Dunlop
williamsonartgallery.org
Un-settled, Steve des Landes’ first solo exhibition in Wirral,
is showing now at Williamson Art Gallery, running until 4th
March.
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