Organized By Nick Elliott Press Office
Cholmondeley, Cheshire (53.057088, -2.691637)
Iconic rock photographer, Nick Elliott, is rocking the art world with an exhibition that is believed to be the largest of its kind. Entitled Size Matters, 13 images of some of the world’s most famous musicians will be reproduced as exhibits each measuring 8 meters high by 5 meters wide. Each massive piece of art will be framed with a metal structure to create individual free-standing exhibits and amongst the musicians included in the exhibition are: Beverley Knight, Motörhead’s Lemmy, The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, Simple Minds’ Jim Kerr, Europe’s Joey Tempest and Skunk Anansie’s Skin. Nick explained: “I wanted to create an exhibition that was truly breath-taking. I’ve been showing my work for many years as limited edition fine art for collectors around the world but wanted to produce something on an enormous scale that would re-create the experience I had when I shot the image for the viewer. I believe that something on this scale has never been done before. “The exhibition is about immersing the observer into the live performance so it had to be as big as possible to provide a truly memorable experience. I wanted to create a ‘living’ exhibition that was interactive and chose images especially that would be appreciated at a distance but also immeasurably powerful and engulfing close up. “To produce the pieces at such a size, whilst retaining the integrity of the images, was a challenge as enormous as the final exhibits themselves. I’m very grateful to have had the very best large format printers, Structure-flex, to provide advice on the material and construction of the pieces and to produce the final work in such a high quality that does my images justice.” Structure-flex, established 45 years ago, has a vast wealth of experience in wide format digital printing and is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of a diverse range of products manufactured from flexible, heavy-duty, PVC coated textiles, so were very well positioned to bring the exhibition to life." Paul Reeve, Managing Director at Structure-flex, commented: “To create free-standing pieces of fine art that would retain the details of Nick’s wonderful work on a fabric that would enable them to be displayed outside and open to the elements, was a challenge. “We produced a number of proto-types at various sizes and tested different fabrics before recommending the final specification. Designing a suitable structure that depicted the look and feel of pieces of art yet secured them into position to fulfil any health and safety requirements was also a big consideration. “We are all thrilled with the results!” There are plans to tour the exhibition across the UK but it will make its inaugural appearance to an audience of 65,000 people at the Pageant of Power classic vehicle, boat and helicopter festival set in the historic grounds of Cholmondeley Castle, Cheshire, on 12-14 June. Pageant of Power festival organiser, James Hall, said: “We are delighted to be the first to host Size Matters, it will be a fabulous addition to the festival this year. As the name suggests, the festival is all about power and the exhibition complements that theme perfectly. “Friday and Saturday culminate in a rock show in the evening a number of the Size Matters exhibits will be flanking the stage where Rick Parfitt Jnr Band and the Tenors of Rock will perform. From what we have already seen, we are expecting it to be a really impressive spectacle and we’re really proud that one of the world’s greatest rock photographers has chosen our festival for the show’s debut.”