The Readerswives sharpen their weapons…

I write from a cosy cafe in Bristol where I await this month’s installment of the Weapon of Choice.

A live painting show that tours pubs and bars of Bristol and beyond, the WOC is an initiative kick-started by Cheba (a graff artist who has even graced the shores of Guernsey) a year ago. On Tuesday night, Readerswives Collective old-timers Dred and Rost will be holding their own at Mr Wolfs, one of the city’s top live-music venues.

Paint pens poised, everyone. It’s going to be good.

£3 entry, see http://www.myspace.com/mrwolfsbar

The Race Is On…

(Published in The Guernsey Globe, Wednesday 22nd October)

On Friday night, the Centre Fold Gallery hosted a night of daredevil speeding for would-be joyriders, in the form of a huge Scalextric rally.

The Readerswives, the art and graphic design collective which runs Trinity Square’s gallery, has constructed an extensive toy-car racing circuit 34 metres long. It is made up of 105 pieces of the popular Scalextric track and forms art of an exhibition to celebrate the success of the Bubblegum Bangers Rally, which in late September raised more than £40,000 for the Mines Awareness Trust.

 

Scalextric: guaranteed fun

 

Anybody visiting the exhibition on Friday’s opening night could choose from six colourful cars and have a go, as well as enjoying a complimentary chilled beverage. Many punters tried their hand at the hairpin bends and hazardous chicanes of the racetrack, which winds through six cardboard countries, loosely mirroring the route of the Bubblegum Bangers’ European tour.

Guernsey’s toy car racers turned out in force. ‘We must have had about 40 people through the doors,’ said a spokesperson for Readerswives. ‘It was just a really light-hearted and fun way of commemorating the rally.’

The spokesperson also said there had been more passers-by peering in through the windows at that exhibition than there normally were during an opening evening. 

Newly appointed community arts development officer Andy Smith said it was a good example of ‘art disguised as fun’. He said it had been ‘wonderful to see people get involved in such an inclusive, creative activity.’

 

The Centre Fold Gallery, run by Readerswives

 

The exhibition is open till the 14th November, and members of the public are encouraged to go along and try their hand at racing. They can even take their own Scalextric cars. The Centre Fold Gallery is open every evening, as well as on Saturdays.

You can learn more about the Bubblegum Bangers Rally at http://www.bubblegumbangers.org, and more about The Centre Fold Gallery at http://www.centrefoldgallery.com. 

Foxy Paw