The West Gallery, Quay Arts, IOW. Sat 10 Dec 2011 – Sat 4 Feb 2012

Artist’s Talk by Day Bowman: Sat 21 Jan Starts 2.30pm FREE, Just turn up

Live Event by TRANSGLOBAL UNDERGROUND: Fri 3 Feb 8.30pm Doors 8pm £15 advance (£20 on the door)

The Urban Wastelands Project is a collaboration of new work by British painter, Day Bowman, alongside award-winning film maker, Ian Knox, and music by internationally acclaimed music group Transglobal Underground, as a finale event.

Bowman’s paintings invite us to enter a world of gasometers, abandoned water pipes and barbed wire, referencing the shapes and forms of much post-industrial architecture such as cooling towers, water towers and wasteland detritus. Knox’s short films 'Zone', reflect the gritty landscapes alluded to in Bowman’s large, gestural paintings - the journey becomes a metaphor for mass transmigration. Echoing these feelings is a collection of traditional songs of emigration, exile and longing put through the radical machine and electronic beats that are the hallmark of the legendary Transglobal Underground in an exclusive live performance at Quay Arts.

“The music by Transglobal Underground is a haunting fusion of cultural influences from Arabic ‘Call to Prayer’ to Celtic Folk. Infused with sadness and longing for homes left far behind, the songs are set to the rhythmic beating of electronic instruments which echo the imagery of Knox’s film and the texture and surface of concrete and metal inherent in Bowman’s paintings. Embracing geo political issues of mass transmigration, The Urban Wastelands Project is a compelling journey through the tough forgotten corners of our marine wastelands that is both brittle and beautiful.” Jenny Blyth

Bowman studied at Chelsea School of Art and London University 1977 – 1980. She has exhibited extensively up and down the UK in solo and group shows and has received numerous awards for her work. Since 2006, Bowman has been represented by Art First London and Karin Sanders New York.

Knox is an award winning Director, trained at Edinburgh College of Art, Mafilm Studios in Budapest and UK’s NFTS. He has worked extensively in UK television drama and is currently working on ‘La Americana’, a feature film to be shot in Cuba.

A fully illustrated catalogue with a forward by Mel Gooding and short essay by Jenny Blyth will be available throughout the exhibition.

The Urban Wastelands Project started its UK tour at the Black Swan Arts as part of the Frome Arts Festival in July 2011, then toured to Dorchester Arts Centre, Kelly Ross Fine Art at The Art Stable, Dorset and finally to Quay Arts, IOW.