Status: Temporary Exhibit (Friday 29th September – Saturday 7th October)
Authorless Bricolage Continued 2023, commissioned for Middlesbrough Art Week (MAW), takes the form of a large billboard in the Gallery Gardens outside The Auxillary on Station Street, Middlesbrough. Authorless Bricolage is an ongoing project by Cal Dyer – a term coined in 2014 whilst working on STEEL:
as a means to accurately delineate recurring visual traces within the public domain created over time simply through existence; though not to exclude the deliberate interventions or actions of some.
We often move through the fast-paced world around us without really being aware of what is around us. The nature of the urban environment means that it is forever changing, there are few things that remain as a fixed point. Cal Dyer explains this beautifully:
Have you ever noticed the marks and scratches that accumulate on public surfaces over time? Whether it’s a patch of contrasting paint on a wall, scratches on a park bench, or the weathering of a building facade, these markings can tell a story about the history and use of a particular place.
Authorless Bricolage is a term that was coined to describe these kinds of markings, which can appear accidentally or intentionally over time. By using a combination of abstract art techniques and collage, these markings can be captured and documented, along with the fleeting shadows that pass over them.
These little observations we can make in our everyday lives are worth stopping and pondering over. As a site-specific work, as a spectator you get a lot from seeing this work in its surroundings. It also challenges you to look deeper:
But this project is more than just an exploration of surface and texture. It also challenges us to question the value judgments that we often make about the world and the objects within it. By recognizing the inherent value in the overlooked and ordinary, we can open ourselves up to new ways of seeing and experiencing the world around us.
This work is one of three outdoor installations for MAW (Friday 29th September – Saturday 7th October) and can be seen 24/7.
Photos of Authorless Bricolage Continued 2023 taken during MAW by Karis Richardson (KarisLouSirak).
North East Statues 