Brummagem Lost City Found, 2017 a joint exhibition by Andrew Kulman and Sara Kulman offered a personal reflection on the city and its changing landscape over 20 years through a series of prints, paper sculptures, artefacts and photography.
Full twenty years and more passed
James Dodds (1781-1837)
Since I left Brummagem.
But I set out for home at last
To good old Brummagem.
But ev’ry place is altered so
Now there’s hardly a place I know
Which fills my heart with grief and woe
For I can’t find Brummagem…
The 1960’s landmarks of Birmingham fascinated Andrew Kulman since he arrived at Birmingham City University 20 years ago. Sara Kulman grew up in and around Birmingham and lived through the city’s different phases before leaving in 1982. In 2016 they relocated to the city centre and used this opportunity to interpret what these buildings and structures meant to them, through their chosen specialisms.
Andrew Kulman
Andrew chose the ‘concrete collar’ of Birmingham’s Inner Ring Road, focusing on the gyratory circuses. These sections of a once dominant motorway are representative of Birmingham’s post-war vision to be a city designed for the future.
New prints were created to depict structures and patterns associated with the city. A range of printmaking techniques provided an opportunity to produce work that is both controlled and unpredictable.
Sara Kulman
Paper has been integral to both Sara’s creative and professional life. She is captivated by the manner with which it can be manipulated, cut and folded.These pieces aimed to demonstrate how selected structures and spaces of 20th Century Birmingham can be reimagined using paper construction skills. Taking colour, pattern and texture as inspiration, the final artwork reveals a unique and personal observation of the city.
These pieces aimed to demonstrate how selected structures and spaces of 20th Century Birmingham can be reimagined using paper construction skills. Taking colour, pattern and texture as inspiration, the final artwork reveals a unique and personal observation of the city.
Sara Kulman designed the exhibition layout.
Exhibition Pieces by Sara Kulman
559.
Exhibition Brummagem: Lost City FoundParkside Gallery, BCU (Birmingham City University).2017. 559., 2017 takes inspiration from Gravelly Hill Interchange, otherwise known as Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham. new meets old Construction started 1968 and it opened in 1972. It was designed to bring traffic into the heart of Birmingham by linking the M1, M5 and M6 motorways with […]
Beneath ghi
Exhibition Brummagem: Lost City FoundParkside Gallery, BCU (Birmingham City University).2017. Beneath GHI 1, 2 and 3 is a series of three small dioramas that take inspiration from what lies below the Gravelly Hill Interchange or as it is commonly known Spaghetti Junction, Birmingham. mediumPaper, card, gold leaf and perspex. dimensionsH: 90mm. W: 230mm. D: 26mm. […]
Gravelly Hill Interchange
exhibition brummagem: lost city foundparkside gallery, bcu (birmingham city university).2017. bummagem: lost city foundselected pieces.mary ogilvie gallery, st anne’s college, Oxford.2017. Gravelly Hill Interchange, 2017 uses a map of Spaghetti Junction as its starting point. Spaghetti Junction has long generated divided opinions from the public. The country’s worst concrete nightmare, an eyesore and scary are terms frequently […]
New Street Signal Boxes
Exhibition Brummagem: Lost City FoundParkside Gallery, BCU (Birmingham City University).2017. Brummagem: Lost City FoundSelected pieces.Mary Ogilvie Gallery, St Anne’s College, Oxford.2017. New Street Signal Box, 1964 Architects: Bicknell and Hamilton in collaboration with R L Moorcraft. Constructed from horizontal pre-cast concrete cladding units hung from a reinforced concrete frame, the Grade II listed New Street […]
Savoy Buildings
Exhibition Brummagem: Lost City FoundParkside Gallery, BCU (Birmingham City University).2017. Brummagem: Lost City FoundSelected pieces.Mary Ogilvie Gallery, St Anne’s College, Oxford.2017. Savoy Buildings 1 & 2 Two pieces of work produced for the exhibition Brummagem: Lost City Found. Based on the buildings known as Savoy Buildings, Hill St, Birmingham, which is currently home to the Grosvenor Casino, […]
Smallbrook Queensway
Exhibition Brummagem: Lost City Found.Parkside Gallery, BCU (Birmingham City University).2017. Soon to be demolished Ringway Centre also known as Smallbrook Queensway was designed by James Roberts in 1962 as the first part of Birmingham’s inner ring road scheme. Whist famed for its architectural long sweeping curve and brutalist detailing it was a mosaic that embraced […]
The Rep
Exhibition Brummagem: Lost City Found.Parkside Gallery, BCU (Birmingham City University).2017. Nature in the City The Birmingham Repertory Theatre or as it is commonly known, The Rep is an important landmark of Birmingham’s urban landscape. Designed by Graham Winteringham and Keith Williams Architects in 1971. it uses texture from the bark of a tree on the […]
