Modern Medieval Creatures

Fans of the peculiar will be intrigued by New Zealander Francis Upritchard’s exhibition at Nottingham Contemporary which sees mythical creatures take over the gallery, This is Nottingham writes. Almost life-size figures by the London-based artist are displayed in Galleries One and Two. Upritchard created all but three of the works specifically for this exhibition, A Hand of Cards, using the city’s medieval history as inspiration. The artist explained: “I’ve been interested for a long time in medieval sculpture and the Robin Hood idea of taxing. I thought, ‘Who’s poor, who’s rich? Who’s fighting for the system? Who’s fighting against the system?’ These war dancers came out of that.” Upritchard represented New Zealand at the 2009 Venice Biennale. A Hand of Cards runs through 30 September.