Arts Diary: Will Marriott

Damien Hirst made his name with a formaldehyde cow and now Golcar artist Jasmine Ettridge is hoping 21 faceless rabbits will lead to similar success. The 22-year-old, who recently graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a degree in contemporary art, has been chosen to exhibit her work in the prestigious Northern Graduate show in London. “I didn’t want them to have an identity, they’re meaningless basically,” says Jasmine, whose final work consisted of the group of sinister bunnies. “I wanted people to think that there was something more behind this cute appearance that toys tend to have.
By The Newsroom
Published 29th Jul 2011, 10:25 BST

“It’s all about childhood, so the better looked after it is, the nicer the memory. The rougher the edges are and the more harsh the material I’ve made it out of, the worse it represents.” Our Little Secret – (21 bears) will go on public display at the Curwen Gallery in London from August 4 until September1.

While libraries across the country may be under threat, Harewood House is doing its bit to promote reading. The estate near Leeds is about to open a read and recycle bookshop and is on the lookout for volunteers. “If you have a love of books, like people and can spare a few hours a week then we want to meet you,” says Harewood’s Audrey Kingsnorth. “We are also appealing for good quality books, especially current fiction and non-fiction as well as children’s books. We hope the shop will have enough volunteers to be open from 11am and 3pm every day, but until then anyone wishing to drop off books can do at the visitor reception.” Proceeds from the shop will be ploughed back into the Trust’s education and environmental projects.

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If you are heading up to the Edinburgh Festival, it would be worth keeping an eye open for identical twins from Sheffield. Matt and Stan Skinny have just secured a nightly slot at the city’s Kiwi bar. According to the pair, their Hairy Feet show is an hour of character-based sketches inspired by American sci-fi and cop dramas, Eurovision song contests, period dramas and reality television shows. The Skinny brothers will be performing from August 6 to 27, each night at 10pm and for those not planning to head north, the twins will be uploading a regular video diary to their website www.skinnytheatre.co.uk.

Some authors like to create an air of mystique around the process of writing, others insist it’s a daily grind and talk of getting up before dawn and battling writer’s block. Not Ross Raisin. The Keighley-born author, whose second novel The Waterline has just been published to rave reviews, was asked by the Financial Times to describe his average day. “For my latest book,” he admitted. “I’d get up, have breakfast, watch an episode of Frasier, write from 9am until 6pm and finish with an episode of The Simpsons.” When not snacking on aniseed balls and crumpets, he seeks distraction from the business of creating award-winning prose by looking on the website of Bradford City FC. Should the club ever be looking for a writer in residence, Raisin is clearly their man.

Related topics:Damien HirstHarewood HouseLondon