Strelnikov's Glasses and Other Stories
Curated by Susan Platt, based on an idea by Robert Hamilton
Design is by studioloose.co.uk
Co-presented by Hong Kong Arts Centre and The Society of the Spectacles
Special Exhibition Guided Tour
Speaker: Robert Hamilton (Film historian, Founder of The Society of the Spectacles)
Date: Sunday 19 March 2023
Time: 14:30 - 15:30
The tour will be conducted in English.
Free admission, Register Now!
The Society of the Spectacles is a creative research collective that celebrates and promotes the role of eyewear in art, film and culture, it was founded by Robert Hamilton, a Manchester-based film historian, in 2012.
Strelnikov's Glasses and Other Stories was originally a collaboration between The Society of the Spectacles and General Eyewear, a London-based eyewear company. In addition to an extensive collection of vintage frames, General Eyewear also specialises in making bespoke glasses - often for films, including those made by Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, and Tim Burton.
The title of the exhibition refers to the spectacles worn by the actor Sir Tom Courtenay as General Strelnikov in David Lean's 1965 film Dr. Zhivago. In the film, the character of Strelnikov changes from being a mild-mannered student revolutionary to the hard-nosed General Strelnikov. As his character changes -so do his glasses.
The exhibition features work by 24 artists, designers, and filmmakers based in the UK, USA, Panama, and Canada, who were invited by the society to make work responding to a pair of glasses (or its wearer), in a film of their choice.