Fun-sized toy aeroplanes, boats, birds and other moving models are on display at the Victoria Art Gallery in a quirky new show.
Robert Race’s “Automata”, running from 7 July to 2 September, highlights the variety of the artist’s work – including moving toys for adults; simple robots; dynamic sculptures; mobile decorations for hospitals and restaurants; donation boxes and interactive collections of toys for museums.
Councillor Cherry Beath (Lib-Dem, Combe Down), Cabinet Member for Sustainable Development, said: “This is a wonderful and amusing show by Robert Race which complements the large donations box he created for Bath & North East Somerset Council’s Victoria Art Gallery, with its model of the artist Thomas Barker painting a portrait.
“His cleverly designed and witty mechanisms are fashioned from re-used and recycled materials such as driftwood, and are guaranteed to appeal to all ages.”
Simple yet often witty movements distinguish the characters Robert Race creates. Traditional moving toys have influenced him strongly, and he has travelled in Europe, Indonesia, Mexico, India and Japan in search of them.
He said: “I enjoy the way their makers have made simple moving objects that exploit whatever material is available to them, often in ingenious ways.
“I try to make the pieces stand on their own as sculptural objects and their look at rest is important, but it’s the movement that brings them alive. If you see them as static objects you miss the point.”
The “Automata” models on display are also available to buy from the Victoria Art Gallery. Some with added sound effects, they include such delights as ‘The Boudoir of the Goths’, ‘Spartan Barbies Save the Planet’ and ‘Lily Marlene’.
Race’s moving toys and mechanical models incorporate a wide range of natural, re-used and recycled materials. He has been an active member of the British Toymakers Guild since 1991.
Much of his recent work is in driftwood, as he says collecting it gives him a good excuse for going to the seaside! He also likes the colours and the textures produced by the effects of the sea and sun which give driftwood a finish that cannot be reproduced in any other way.
