It’s a question of balance as display goes to Singapore (From Bridport and Lyme Regis News)

It’s a question of balance as display goes to Singapore

11:00am Thursday 1st November 2012 in Lyme Regis By Adrianne Maslen

ADRIAN Gray’s balancing stones are usually set against the backdrop of the Jurassic Coast.

The Lyme Regis artist can usually be found on the town beach doing live demonstrations and selling photographs of his work.

But his installations have now been imposed on the ultra modern city landscape of Singapore.

Adrian has launched his first show in south west Asia where an exhibition of stone balancing is featured at private museum and gallery Art Trove.

The exhibition, called Equi-poise, features images of his work captured by Devon photographer Duncan George.

A parallel exhibition with the same theme but featuring images shot on Leica cameras – a type of camera particularly associated with street photography – is also running at the Leica Gallery within Raffles Hotel.

Adrian said: “I started working with Duncan because we had the opportunity to do the shows in Singapore and although I had taken all my own photographs previously while working in the UK I realised that I needed someone with more technical expertise, and also someone who could actually take the shots while I was working.

“Duncan I knew was an amazing photographer and to have someone to collaborate with actually made life easier. It also put a different perspective on the work.”

The Singapore exhibitions feature images taken on both the Jurassic Coast and in Singapore.

Adrian and Duncan spent months trawling the remote beaches along the Jurassic Coast looking for stones and sites that would meet their aesthetic criteria.

The Singapore Collection takes Adrian’s installations out of their natural habitat and into the city environment.

Adrian said: “Creating stone balance sculptures has been my passion for the last 10 years and now this project has given me the opportunity to share my art with a wider audience.

“Singapore has that buzz of the big city but also has lovely little pockets worth exploring.

“In some of the pictures we have also tried to find those little secret places.”

Duncan said: “Working with Adrian and shooting his wonderful installations in such a wide variety of locations has given me the opportunity of developing my own vision and creating a highly-unusual and striking body of work.”

Adrian and Duncan were faced with some challenging logistics while in Singapore, transporting 200-kilo rocks and equipment around the city in a hired van.

Locations ranged from well-known and iconic views of the city at night, to more intimate locations, including a brightly painted building in Little India and a derelict building in Chinatown.

Adrian said: “Wherever we went the people of Singapore were hugely supportive and welcoming of my art. A big thank you is due.

“Working in a city environment is a whole new ball game when it comes to creating stone balancing sculptures.”