© Courtesy of Chiswick House & GardensBring Into Being invites audiences to explore a series of art commissions, events and workshops in West London's newest contemporary art space
With the summer season nearly upon us and re-openings in full force, there are plenty of things to explore and look forward to. One particular highlight is Chiswick House & Gardens' new artistic programme, titled 'Bring Into Being'. Firmly placing the heritage site as an important part of West London's cultural heart, the series will immerse visitors in a breadth of powerful art commissions and interactive workshops.
The glorious 18th-century Chiswick House was originally designed by the third Earl of Burlington as a Roman-style Palladian villa, drawing inspiration from his extravagant Grand Tours of Italy. The picturesque gardens are also considered the birthplace of the English Landscape Movement.
Now a much-treasured gallery, the house's invigorating summer programme spans themes of time, natural cycles, representation, consciousness and perception, and gives us the opportunity to reconnect with ourselves, others and our natural surroundings.
The contemporary art space will hold three installations featuring some of the most exciting names in the worlds of art, music and science, including the Turner Prize-winning artist Mark Wallinger, the sculptor Jaimini Patel and the acclaimed Ghanaian-British electronic musician Peter Adjaye .
© Courtesy of Chiswick House & GardensThe Turner Prize-winner Mark Wallinger
On display will be Adjaye's work We Bear the Light of the Earth In Red, Green, Brown and Black (2021), an eight-channel soundscape spread across four rooms, created with musicians of South Asian and West African descent, including Alok Verma, Jali Fily Cissokho and Kaykay Chauhan. By scanning QR codes, viewers will be able to experience Sunrise of Invisible Gold (2021) and Sunset in Rippling Bronze (2021) at the entrance of the gardens and their ionic temple, incorporating diverse narratives within this historic location.
In the grounds will also sit Wallinger's aptly titled work British Summer Time (2021), a sundial that will play a waltz from a music box each hour - accompanied by a delightful flurry of bubbles.
© Courtesy of Chiswick House & GardensRekha Sawhney records with Peter Adjaye in the Green Velvet Room
© Courtesy of Chiswick House & Gardenschiswick house and gardens
As well as the new art commissions, visitors will be able to take part in a number of workshops, such as those led by the textile artist Yiran Duan, the photographer Jasprit Singh and a collaborative event run by the artist Ansuman Biswas and the astroparticle physicist Chamkaur Ghag.
"'Bring Into Being' was devised as a programme to test the future possibilities of Chiswick House & Gardens," says the programme's curator Mariam Zulfiqar. "We are experimenting with different forms of activity to see what kind of future this site might have, and the ideas of artists, musicians, scientists and other creative practitioners are central to generating new forms of connection between people and this site."
'Bring Into Being' will run from 27 May to 31 October 2021. For more information, visit, www.chiswickhouseandgardens.org.uk.