Steve Randall’s Most Ambitious Project Yet Opens At The Royal Liver Building
Steve Randall has been a part of several big exhibitions but nothing gets close to his latest venture. The Transitions exhibition not only features over 36 previously unseen works but also, a soundtrack specifically written by composer W E S T H E A R T, a specially produced projection by DP Digital Media, live painting and fundraising for local charities, The Walton Centre and Claire House.
Steve came to art late in life after his wife was diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. Giving up a career in finance, he and his wife set off to Spain to spend as much quality time together as possible. It was during that time that Steve began to paint and his wife joked that she liked the idea of being married to an artist, Steve decided to make that a reality and by 2017 he was painting full time.
In 2018 Steve became an artist in residence at Aintree University Hospital, where he’s still heavily connected to the staff wellbeing programme. In the decade since his wife’s diagnosis, Steve’s raised more than £43,000 through his arts initiative, helping various charities across the Liverpool City Region. This exhibition will add to that as there will be a prize draw for an original painting and a hand embellished print by Steve, with all proceeds being split between The Walton Centre and Claire House.
Steve first became known for his nostalgic illustrations of his childhood in Kirkby and pivotal moments in his life but his later work includes ethereal landscapes, inspired by many trips he and his wife have taken to Scotland. Steve commented, “I find solace in watching other people connect with my art in their own way and I hope the addition of music by W E S T H E A R T will really help accentuate that connection”.
W E S T H E A R T (aka Kenny MacLennan) has been a musician for many years but only started working on solo projects around early Feb 2020. He explains, “The timing felt right to explore new music ideas, with everything that was going on in the world, it felt like peace of mind and space was becoming more and more important”.
The soundscape created for the Transitions exhibition was a departure for W E S T H E A R T, as it is the first time his work has been informed by someone else’s visuals. However, given that his music is generally inspired by the same landscape that’s informed Steve’s later work, the collaboration feels very natural.
The visuals and music have been brought together in an animation by DP Digital Media and the only way you can see that is by visiting the exhibition. Laura McCann, The Curator and Arts Producer of the event said, “This is the first event of this kind at The Royal Liver Building and watching the beautiful film being projected in the atrium will be a real full circle moment for all the creatives involved in this project.”
The exhibition is free and runs daily 10am-4pm between the 14 – 28 March. Steve will be creating a large painting during the event and the soundtrack will be playing throughout, although if people bring their own headphones they’ll be able to scan a QR code and listen to the soundtrack via their phone. Prize draw tickets are £5 each and both cash and cards are accepted. For more info go to lauramccannphotos.com.
