My Mother’s Day treat

As a rule we don’t usually go to town over Mother’s Day. We never have really, preferring not to jump onto the band wagon of expensive presents and forced lunches out. So it was quite by coincidence that a free Sunday aligned with the weather and Mother’s Day and a trip to our (very) local Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP).

We went immediately after breakfast and were pleased we did. The car park attendants were parking cars in overflow car park number 4 when we were leaving.

We had heard good things about the latest exhibition. Being a complete art philistine I knew nothing of the artist, Tony Cragg, a British Sculptor born in Liverpool, 1949, but instantly felt a sense of ‘these seem familiar’ on entering the Underground Gallery.

My unenlightened husband described everything a bit ‘samey’ but I loved the shape, the form, the desire to touch, of each piece not believing it to be ‘samey’ at all. Unfortunately although these pieces were crying out to be touched; it was not allowed. We could take photos.

Who would not want to touch this?

Next, my favourite image.

The natural light streaming through the back of the underground gallery makes it impossible to take a bad shot.

A few more inside. The mind boggles how he managed to get his hands and tools inside this one to carve out the shapes within shapes.

Another one in laminated wood.

It was wonderful to get up close to.

Then a random one, almost Henry Moore in composition.

But covered in dice!

The exhibits didn’t stop there, but extended out into the parkland outside.

And into the smaller of the galleries.

Foxes glacier mints?

And being Mother’s Day, there was my daughter and daffodils.

I’ve saved the best until last.

What a backdrop!

If you are ever passing through Yorkshire you really should go. It is off J38 of the M1.

The Tony Cragg exhibition is on until 3rd September.

Love, Lucie xx