High Noon to Midnight: Sculptor Graham Ibbeson draws on nostalgia

HE’S best know for his amazing statues – including the likes of comedy legends Laurel & Hardy, cricket icon Dickie Bird and British classic Kes character Billy Casper.
Graham IbbesonGraham Ibbeson
Graham Ibbeson

But not everyone knows that Yorkshire’s world famous sculptor Graham Ibbeson is also super talented at drawing.

Not until now, writes Graham Walker.

And amongst his favourite subjects are his own grandchildren as he draws on nostalgia to give a personal insight into his own childhood – a tin bath, snake belt, and Sheriff’s star all feature,

High Noon to Midnight, with a built in saloon for dressing up photos, is a new free entry exhibition of more than 30 of his drawings on display for the very first time at the Cooper Gallery in his home town of Barnsley.

FIND OUT MORE: Check out the Cooper Galley website for more details of this and other events at www.cooper-gallery.com.

It follows a Casting Characters exhibition at the town’s Glassworks which recently featured moulds Graham used to make sculptures of well-loved performers, which later become bronze statues.

Barnsley Museums is now celebrating his career with the follow-up exhibition of drawings at the Cooper Gallery until Saturday, October 1.

While recovering from major surgery in 2019, Graham returned to his first love of drawing and the work included in his new exhibition offer a personal insight.

Family portraits are drawn with compassion and humour, using charcoal.

Visitors can expect to see Graham’s grandchildren depicted as personalities from a nostalgic era.

His work is accompanied by poetry composed by Graham’s cousin, Paul Thwaites, inspired by the drawings, in a bid ti provide an extra dimension to the work.

High Noon To Midnight at Cooper Gallery in Barnsley until October 1, 2022.High Noon To Midnight at Cooper Gallery in Barnsley until October 1, 2022.
High Noon To Midnight at Cooper Gallery in Barnsley until October 1, 2022.

Published exclusively for the exhibition is a limited edition, signed book that is on sale in the Cooper Gallery gift shop for £19.99.

Graham, proud to be displaying his work at the Cooper in his 70th year, revealed he started drawing again as therapy after he almost died.

He said:"I had a really serious operation and I nearly died. I was recovering when COVID started and I couldn't even lift a bag of clay. I was that ill.

"So I used drawing as a kind of therapeutic thing, to keep my creative juices flowing.”

Graham Ibbeson drawings and other work on display at Cooper GalleryGraham Ibbeson drawings and other work on display at Cooper Gallery
Graham Ibbeson drawings and other work on display at Cooper Gallery

He added: "A lot of people don't really don't know I draw, because they see me as a sculptor. And I never really exhibited my drawings.

"During lockdown I started to do big charcoal drawings. I did them years ago at college, but never took it up again. So, this is an exhibition of around 30 drawings, some taken from life, some from photographs, some drawings of my sculpture, drawings of my grandchildren, in various poses, and invented sculpture.

"My influences are seaside postcards, the Pre-Raphaelites, general Barnsley life and my childhood.

"A lot of the drawings and sculptures are subtitled Wild West Yorkshire and inspired by my Barnsley childhood, playing ‘cowboys and injuns’ on a council house estate.”

Graham is well loved for his comedic sculptures but says it’s quicker to tell the gag as a drawing.

"In a way I'm like a comedian - it takes me a couple of months to tell the joke if I'm making a sculpture. With drawing, it's instant, the joke's there,” he said.

Little Running Nose - Wild West Yorkshire by Graham IbbesonLittle Running Nose - Wild West Yorkshire by Graham Ibbeson
Little Running Nose - Wild West Yorkshire by Graham Ibbeson

" I like using charcoal because it's messy. I'm a sculptor, I'm used to getting messy. I treat it like making a sculpture when I'm making a drawing and build it up slowly. I add and take away like I do with clay. I find it a really nice medium to work in. And it's black and white. Even though I paint sculpture, I'm scared of using colour on a flat piece of paper. "

Coun Robert Frost, Cabinet Spokesperson for Regeneration and Culture, said: “Graham’s work is loved and respected across the globe and we are delighted that this exhibition is opening right here in Barnsley with work that has never been seen before.

"Mesmerising, heartfelt and often humorous it will connect with visitors on many levels. The Gallery is free to enter and always offer a relaxing and unique experience.”

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