Andy Parsons writes….

The old Wolfe Tone Pharmacy which I have re-named Wolf on Arm, will be my new studio over the next couple of months, it will also be the new base for the Model Niland Gallery’s youth arts project young model.

Combining a working studio with an education space is an innovative idea. I am not sure what direction its going to take my work in or what kind of work will come from the workshops and events we are going to stage, so its a leap into the unknown. Using a shop on a busy street puts the work of the artist and the educational work of the gallery into the public eye in an unusually up front way.

Why change the name ‘Wolfe Tone Pharmacy’ to ‘Wolf on Arm’? Partly because I think its funny… and partly because the wolf represents pure wildness; something that is as out of step with our current relationship with nature as it is possible to be. Wolf on arm suggests nature biting back. Which it kind of is at the moment. Most of my work is about how we look at nature, so the name of the studio sets the scene for the sort of work I want to make over the next few months.

The first of work will be a life size (i.e. very big indeed) sculpture of a Columbia printing press with its trademark giant Eagle. The sculpture will be created alongside the production of woodcut prints in various sizes. I am hoping that young model participants will be able to make prints as well and create a kind of workshop, making the most basic kind of art object there is.

Wolf on arm will be open on Thursday Afternoons and Saturdays, or by appointment, or just drop in if the lights are on… <Andy>