Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP)
We spent the day at the YSP in West Bretton yesterday. It was an interesting trip the first sculpture park I’ve been too and I must say i’m jealous of the students at the Bretton campus of Leeds University it’s a great location for students especially those studying any form of art.
Unfortunately we didn’t manage to see everything as the place is a lot bigger than we had planned for and the maps aren’t very user friendly. There aren’t enough signs or laid out trails so it seemed a bit fragmented I have no idea how much we missed. However, there are a three good light installations by James Turrell located in the Underground Gallery. One of which is a blue lit room it was a strange experience had a sci-fi feel to it like we had been transported into a film like THX 1138 by George Lucas.
My favourite sculpture/exhibit was the Deer Shelter again by James Turrell:
The use of artificial light mixed with the natural light from the skylight above created an outdoors indoors feel. The skylight has no cover so the inside of the shelter is exposed to the elements, leaves and debris can be found scattered on the floor creating a stark contrast against the neat moulded seats and white walls which are enhanced by the artificial lighting. I loved this piece of work it was eery but settling at the same time, it made the visit worth while. It would be interesting to sit in the Deer Shelter under all weather conditions to see how the atmosphere of the space changes.
Despite the lack of a decent map and not having much of a guided path YSP is well worth a visit. I will probably take the time to go again however next time I will pack some lunch and a bottle of water, put on some hiking boots and set out on one of the poetic walks which can be found in one of the leaflets available from the information desk.