Sculpture partners Brendan Jamison (right) and Mark Revels (left) as they begin constructing their SUGAR AMERICA project
Sugar cubes take on American tour
By Paul Flowers
In a unique project this summer, Bangor sculptors Brendan Jamison (37) and Mark Revels (38) are travelling across the USA, creating 'Sugar America', a giant sugar cube sculpture which maps iconic buildings, vehicles and animals from across the country.
It will be exhibited at 10 major cities all across the USA and will get larger and larger with each new city they roll into.
Commissioned by Abbott, a global healthcare company, they are travelling in a large RV which is their 'on the road' studio, sculpting away on the highway and transporting the sculptures from stop to stop.
Arriving in New Orleans via Washington DC on June 5, they will venture westwards across the States, exhibiting at venues in 10 major cities. Iconic buildings and state symbols from each location will be carved in cubes, with highlights including the French Quarter in New Orleans, The Alamo in San Antonio, the Bank of America Center in Houston, a buffalo in Oklahoma, a bear in Sacramento, a cable car in Keystone and 5 radomes from Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado. After 10 cities, the tour ends in San Diego on August 12 after a total journey of 3,384 miles!
Brendan Jamison commented, "The project is a perfect marriage between art and science and demonstrates how sculpture can be used as a catalyst to encourage greater education about sugar in our body. In itself, sugar is not bad, the body actually needs glucose for energy, however, too little of the sweet substance is dangerous and too much is equally damaging."
Brendan's Father has type 2 diabetes and Mark's Grandmother died from the condition. Therefore both sculptors have a direct link with diabetes, fuelling a determination to use their creative energy to help raise awareness of how to manage the condition.
Mark Revels said, "Brendan and I returned from a project at the Pompidou Centre in Paris last October and we couldn't wait to get straight into prep for our sugar tour of America. We have now completed about half of the sculptures and look forward to creating all the new pieces from June to August on our 3 month adventure. We love creating large-scale sculpture installations which cross-pollinate art with architecture, engineering, geography, urban planning and human biology. It is effectively 10 solo exhibitions in the space of 3 months so it's the biggest project of our careers. We are so excited to be living the dream of travelling the world doing something we both love, it'll be like a rock star tour of the States!"
The first exhibition of the 'Sugar America' tour will be at the annual gathering of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans from June 11-14.
The show then travels to Texas, arriving at the cities of Houston and San Antonio, followed by Oklahoma City and then onto Colorado with stops at Aurora and the mountain ski town of Keystone, then onwards to Salt Lake City in Utah, finally arriving at California with exhibitions in Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego.
After 10 weeks of sculpting on the road, the whirlwind tour will climax with a giant sculpture installation at the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) at the San Diego Convention Center from August 12-14.
Route map of the ten city exhibition tour
FLOWERS, PAUL. "Sugar cubes take on American tour", County Down Spectator,
Northern Ireland,
2 June 2016, p. 18
Thursday June 2, 2016
McCULLOUGH, NEAL. "Satirical illustration: Sugar sculptors embark on USA road trip",
County Down Spectator, Northern Ireland,
2 June 2016, p. 28
Thursday June 2, 2016
Sugar cube sculptures animate world of diabetes on US tour
Image: Pictured left to right, sculptors Mark Revels and Brendan Jamison will embark on a 3-month tour of the US this summer creating sugar cube sculptures of some of the most iconic buildings from across the States.
By Sarah Coburn
In a unique project this summer, Northern Irish sculptors Brendan Jamison and Mark Revels are travelling across the USA, creating 'Sugar America', a giant sugar cube sculpture which maps iconic buildings, vehicles and animals from across the country.
Commissioned by Abbott, a global healthcare company, Brendan and Mark will travel in a large RV which is their 'on the road' studio, sculpting away on the highway and transporting the sculptures from stop to stop. The work will be exhibited at 10 major cities across the USA and will get larger and larger with each new city they roll into.
Arriving in New Orleans via Washington DC on June 5, they will venture westwards across the States, exhibiting at venues in 10 major cities. Iconic buildings and state symbols from each location will be carved in cubes, with highlights including the French Quarter in New Orleans, The Alamo in San Antonio, the Bank of America Center in Houston, a buffalo in Oklahoma, a bear in Sacramento, a cable car in Keystone and 5 radomes from Buckley Air Force Base in Colorado. After 10 cities, the tour ends in San Diego on August 12 after a total journey of 3,384 miles!
Brendan Jamison said "the project is a perfect marriage between art and science and demonstrates how sculpture can be used as a catalyst to encourage greater education about sugar in our body. In itself, sugar is not bad, the body actually needs glucose for energy, however, too little of the sweet substance is dangerous and too much is equally damaging. Therefore Abbott is leading the field on how to maintain a healthy balance to manage our intake of sugar. As a global leader in healthcare, Abbott was a pioneer in developing the world's first HIV blood-screening test back in 1985. They have remained at the cutting edge of medical science, with a passion for solving problems to ensure we enjoy a lifestyle which is as healthy and happy as possible. It is a great privilege to work with them."
Brendan's Father has type 2 diabetes and Mark's Grandmother died from the condition. Therefore both sculptors have a direct link with diabetes, fuelling a determination to use their creative energy to help raise awareness of how to manage the condition.
The first exhibition of the 'Sugar America' tour will be at the annual gathering of the American Diabetes Association (ADA) at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans from June 11-14. The show then travels to Texas, arriving at the cities of Houston and San Antonio, followed by Oklahoma City and then onto Colorado with stops at Aurora and the mountain ski town of Keystone, then onwards to Salt Lake City in Utah, finally arriving at California with exhibitions in Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego. After 10 weeks of sculpting on the road, the whirlwind tour will climax with a giant sculpture installation at the American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) at the San Diego Convention Center from August 12-14.
For further information visit www.brendanjamison.com and www.markrevels.com
Buckley Air Force Base, Aurora, Colorado. A detail from SUGAR AMERICA (2016) Brendan Jamison and Mark Revels, carved sugar cubes. Installation dimensions: 60 x 600 x 500 cm.
A view of the French Quarter in New Orleans. Carved sugar cube sculptures by Brendan Jamison and Mark Revels.
COBURN, SARAH.
"Sugar cube sculptures animate world of diabetes on US tour", Arts
Council of Northern Ireland, 2 June 2016
Saturday May 28, 2016
Online Edition:
Sugar cube sculptors to embark on three-month tour of the US
Sculptors Brendan Jamison (right) and Mark Revels (left) as they begin constructing their Sugar America project which tours 10 cities across the USA
By Claire Simpson
SUGAR cube sculptors from the north are to take part in a three-month tour of the US to raise awareness of our sugar consumption.
Brendan Jamison (37) and Mark Revels (38), who both work in Belfast, have created 'Sugar America', a giant sculpture which maps iconic buildings, vehicles and animals from across the country.Landmarks carved in sugar cubes include the French Quarter in New Orleans and the Alamo in San Antonio.
The sculpture will be exhibited at 10 major cities all across the USA and will get larger with each new city the pair visit.
The tour and sculptures have been commissioned by healthcare company Abbott.Mr Jamison, whose father suffers from type two diabetes, said the project aims to encourage people to educate themselves on their sugar intake.
"In itself, sugar is not bad, the body actually needs glucose for energy, however, too little of the sweet substance is dangerous and too much is equally damaging," he said.
Mr Revels said the project was the biggest of the pair's careers. "We have now completed about half of the sculptures and look forward to creating all the new pieces from June to August on our three month adventure," he said.
"We love creating large-scale sculpture installations which cross-pollinate art with architecture, engineering, geography, urban planning and human biology."
The first exhibition of the 'Sugar America' tour will be at the annual gathering of the American Diabetes Association in New Orleans early next month.
The tour ends at another diabetes conference in San Diego.
A sculpture of the French Quarter in New Orleans, carved from sugar cubes by Brendan Jamison and Mark Revels
SIMPSON, CLAIRE. "Sugar cube sculptors to embark on three-month tour of the US",The Irish News, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Saturday May 28, 2016, p. 7
|
