Child’s Play was presented by Fermynwoods Contemporary Art in partnership with The Core at Corby Cube. A sculpture – performance – play by internationally renowned artist Aeneas Wilder. Visitors to The Core at Corby Cube were able to observe the gradual build up of the monumental wooden installation, Untitled #215.
Working in solitude for days, the act of placing became a rhythmic labour, with the structure gradually becoming apparent as time passed. Through careful measuring and placement of thousands of uniform lengths of recycled Iroko wood, Untitled #215, a sculpture especially conceived for The Core at Corby Cube, took form on stage responding to the specific architecture of the building. No fixing, joining, or additional materials. Only balance and gravity holding the sculpture in place.
“When you go to the theatre you can’t own the play – you can own a copy of the script, or the programme that outlines the main characters, but you don’t own the play – I see this work a bit like that. It’s not for people to own, it’s for people to experience.”
Aeneas Wilder
The public were invited to visit the theatre between 12th and 16th September 2022 to witness the sculpture – performance – play develop, culminating in a special Sculpture Kickdown Event on 17th September, where the work was brought crashing to the floor. Members of the public, families and children were then invited onto the stage to play, construct and knock down their own creations.
Aeneas Wilder is an artist who thinks about form and space, structure and time. Born in Edinburgh in 1967 and now based between there and Japan, he has worked extensively around the world. As well as exhibiting his own work and developing commissions, Aeneas is a curator who has written on his own relief efforts following the 2011 earthquake in Japan.
Supported by Northamptonshire Community Foundation’s Compton Fund. Commissioned as part of Xylophobia, Fermynwoods Contemporary Art’s new two-year programme funded by Arts Council England. Named from the fear of wooden objects or forests, Xylophobia addresses issues of place and belonging which go to the heart of community feelings of exclusion from both the art world and woodland spaces.