CULTURE VULTURE Long live the Southsea Dinosaur! By Emma Beatty
D
o you remember the Southsea
On Portsmouth High Street, Jack House
Dinosaur? The 16-metre-high, scrap-
Gallery is bringing some LA cool to the
wood statue that loomed over
city in collaboration with the pop artist
Southsea Common back in 2010? Sadly, it
Derek Boshier, Images of Los Angeles (9
burnt down because of an electrical fault but locals
Oct-13 Nov). He now lives in Los Angeles and
never forgot its unique amiable character.
suggested doing the show because of the large
Now
there’s
a
newly-commissioned
bronze
number of expat British artists living and working in
“omnisaurus” by the same Welsh artists, Heather
LA with whom he is friends. He said: “All the artists
Peak and Ivan Morison, near the original on Southsea
in this exhibition live in Los Angeles and work in
Common. The new piece is quite a bit smaller and
very varied media. I introduced the theme of
sits atop a fossil Portland-stone plinth, totalling 1.4
images of Los Angeles. All who did not originate from America have interesting
metres high.
stories to tell. Graham Moore for
A plaque connects you to an
example lived in Gosport and
augmented reality experience via
later in Southsea. He worked in
your smartphone – revealing a full-
Portsmouth Dockyard, where he
size digital rendering of the
trained as rigger but immediately
original artwork.
after that went to art college and
“More than 12,000 local residents
is now a successful digital
joined an independently created Facebook
group
called
graphic designer and teacher.
‘RIP
Philip Vaughn went to Chelsea
Southsea Dinosaur’ when Luna Park
School of Art (as did Penny
tragically and mysteriously burned down in 2010 and since summer 2020, a Crowdfunder has raised
Slinger) and studied sculpture. Swimming with Travis by Adam de Boer, from the Images of LA show
£10,000 to build our bronze replica of the goliath,” said Joanne Bushell, Director, of Aspex, the city art gallery that co-ordinated the project. Also at Aspex, in its Gunwharf gallery, you’ve got until 10 October to see its show of emerging artists – Emergency 2021 - a diverse mix of installation, video, sculpture and photography blending deft humour and style with dabs of sober politics and pathos. After that, Aspex rolls out its annual recent-graduate Award show,
To cut a long story short with his sculpture skills he built a 40-foot boat and sailed it from Britain to
America where in California he still sails.” There are 22 artists on the show, most of whom have contributed two pieces fixed in size to 8” x 9.5”. And finally, it’s getting dark, so watch out for We Shine Portsmouth (18-21 Nov), the city’s “first major light festival” set up to develop the city’s creative industries and help promote
Platform 2021 (22 Oct-23 Dec). This year’s entries
those working within them. City landmarks will be
include sculpture, installation, film, photography, print,
lit with one-off, “awe-inspiring artworks” designed
drawing, painting and collage. One young artist will be
by local artists and some nationally renowned
nominated for a £2,000 bursary.
ones too.
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