YOUNG filmmakers have put a figure sculptor in the picture as they document an arts initiative focusing on men in sport.
Creative Film and Moving Image students at Cleveland College of Art & Design are creating a documentary on the work of artist Michelle Castle, as part of Hartlepool Borough Council’s Inspire project aimed at encouraging more young men in the town to get involved in sport.
Daniel D’arcy 23, Daniel Rhodes, 18 and Richard Coote, 19, will be capturing Michelle for over a year as she creates life-size and miniature sporting figures from wire mesh as an artist in residence at CCAD. Other students involved in the project are Gavin Murphy as Production Manager and Kevin Holroyd, Director.
“We were asked to make a five to six minute film showing the process of Michelle creating her sculptures alongside interviews with local sportsmen, including Hartlepool triathlete Matthew Turnbull and slack liner James Morris,” said Daniel Rhodes, of Middlesbrough.
“This is the first documentary that I’ve been involved with and as well as real time filming we will also be using time lapse film to show how the sculptures evolve.”
Michelle, 39, of Cumbria, will be exhibiting her sculptures alongside sporting images taken by former CCAD student and extreme photographer Lucinda Grange.
“I’m hoping to create up to 15 sculptures depicting sports including swimming, football, rugby, skateboarding, BMX, free running and slack lining,” she said.
“The large figures take up to a week to make, working eight hours a day. It is slightly daunting being filmed but once I get absorbed in my work I don’t realise that the film crew are there.”
The sculptures, photographs and completed film will go on show at Hartlepool’s Art Gallery from January 10, 2015 to March 14.
CCAD creative film and moving image programme leader Di Fletcher said: “It is incredibly important for our students to have live briefs to work to and it is very exciting to have an artist in residence for them to film.
“We have a number of high profile clients, including Hartlepool Borough Council, and our students are always more than capable of rising to the challenge.”
Cultural officer for Hartlepool Borough Council Ashley Landsbury added: “By showcasing existing sports, through the Inspire project, we hope to see more participation in sport throughout the whole community.
“In this way, the exhibition of sculpture, photography and film is not the end in itself, but a means to an end. We will do this by providing practical information about the resources available and linking it to the exhibition.”
For more information on opportunities at CCAD log on to www.ccad.ac.uk or phone (01642) 288888.
