James Pyman is an illustrator known for his detailed draughtsmanship. He was commissioned by the Hepworth, Wakefield to create a large scale art work which has been installed outside the gallery.
There’s an old, abandoned mill that stands on the banks of the River Calder, directly opposite the entrance to the gallery. The artist produced very detailed pencil drawings of three sides of the building. These have been enlarged and printed onto fabric which has been “wrapped” around the actual structure, supported on scaffolding on the outside of the mill. So the illustration is actually larger than the real thing. The result is that observers can see what the mill looks like without actually seeing it.
The drawing is very realistic and from a distance could easily be mistaken for the real thing.
Upper Mill will be on show until July 2013. It will be interesting to see what the mill looks like once the wrap is removed. Will it have deteriorated further or will the wrap have protected it from damage by the elements?
Down by the Dougie 