Latest news with #WalkerArtGallery
Time Out
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
‘Fountain of Youth' locations: behind the scenes on Guy Ritchie's globe-trotting heist adventure
Guy Ritchie's new adventure movie, Fountain of Youth, is a globe-trotting caper in the spirit of National Treasure and that all-time classic, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. There's clues, a treasure map, stolen portraits, subsea wrecks and a powerful McGuffin that people will die to keep safe – and that John Krasinski's artefact hunter will risk it all to pinch. A Quiet Place 's Krasinski plays Luke Purdue, an adventurer who teams up with his reluctant sister Charlotte (Natalie Portman) on a quest to find the mythical Fountain of Youth. Domhnall Gleeson's terminally ill tycoon provides financial backing, hopeful that water from the mythical spring will cure him. Queuing up to stop them are ruthless agent Esme (Mexican star Eiza González), a detective played by Succession 's Arian Moayed, and more than is a few twists and turns. Fountain of Youth Filmed filming locations The Apple TV+ movie has Apple money behind it, which means big action set pieces and iconic international backdrops for them to play out against. We asked Guy Ritchie's long-time production designer Martyn John (The Gentleman) to talk us through the film's globe-spanning filming spots. The scooter chase – Bangkok, Thailand Fountain of Youth opens with Purdue in possession of an item that his adversaries want very badly. Cue a madcap chase through Thailand's bustling capital city as the treasure hunter tries to outrun his foes on a flaming scooter. 'Bangkok was amazing,' says John of the location. 'We shot in Chinatown and used this derelict building in another part of the city for the chase sequence with the bike. We dressed it as if people lived there – with a laundrette and a food market.' The train journey – Hua Lamphong Train Station, Bangkok The sequence ends on a train at Bangkok's main train station, where Purdue encounters the mysterious Esme for the first time. Via the magic of editing, the scene transitions from a real train to an on-set recreation. 'Because John [Krasinski] is very tall, we had to expand a train carriage on set to make it easier for us to film,' explains the production designer. 'Sections of it came off for the fight sequence.' The National Gallery painting theft – Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool For a film full of sleight of hand, it's fitting that Guy Ritchie manages to pull off one of his own: the scenes set in London aren't London at all but Liverpool. When Luke Purdue reunites with his sister and steals a painting from The National Gallery, it's actually Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery. 'Filming around Trafalgar Square is a nightmare because it's so busy,' explains John. 'We looked at other galleries around London, but the Walker Art Gallery was [perfect]: it's Georgian, it's stone, it's very similar architecturally to The National Gallery.' The London getaway chase – Dale Street, Liverpool The heist spills into another breakneck chase across London. This was filmed on Liverpool's Dale Street. 'Doing a car chase in London is nigh-on impossible,' says John. '[But] Dale Street could be anywhere in London.' The piano recital – Harrow School, London In a scene filmed at Harrow School, Purdue stops in at his nephew's piano recital. 'We wanted to go to the Royal Albert Hall, but the dates didn't work.' says John. 'The boys' school in Harrow has this amazing, semi-circular auditorium.' The Lusitania sequence – Leavesden Studios, Hertfordshire Purdue and his sister's treasure hunt leads them below the waves – or very close to them – when they board the sunken passenger liner RMS Lusitania. Rather than the southern coast of Ireland, the vessel's resting place, a section of the ship was reconstructed at Leavesden and in Pinewood's underwater tanks using hydraulics systems. 'The design is an amalgamation of the Titanic and the Lusitania,' says John, 'because we [needed a specific layout] for the stunts.' The Old Queen's Head, Islington A later encounter between Purdue and his nemesis Esme takes place in a chic London bar. Eagle-eyed Bridget Jones fans might recognise it: Islington's The Old Queen's Head also featured in Mad About the Boy earlier this year. 'You need so much space [to film] and The Old Queen's has lots of it,' says John. 'Guy [Ritchie] likes big sets with lots of depth and visual interest, so we always find those spaces for him.' The Viennese library – Austrian National Library, Vienna The trail of clues leads Purdue and co to Vienna's grand library in pursuit of an artefact called the Wicked Bible – a (real) antiquarian version of the bible with one or two scurrilous misprints. The production team looked at libraries in Paris, as well as Dublin's Trinity College library, before settling on the Austrian capital. 'We convinced them to let us film in there,' says John, 'but then I had to match it in a studio so we could do a fight sequence with our books in case they damaged them.' The Viennese hotel – Hotel Imperial, Vienna Look out for exterior shots of this five-star Viennese hotel, although the scene in its suite was filmed in the UK. 'We found an old Elizabethan house near the studio in Leavesden,' remembers John, 'and I went to town decorating it to make the suite.' The team's safe house – Hoxton Docks, east London The London safe house where Purdue and his team hole up was filmed at Hoxton Dock. 'It's a big warehouse in the East End,' says John, 'and that was a brilliant dress. We had all this technology and antiquity melded together in this one [space]'. The pyramids – Giza, Egypt Without giving anything away, the movie's climax takes its characters to the ancient pyramids at Giza. 'To be able to film with the pyramids as a backdrop was incredible, and they let us get as close as we possibly could,' remembers John. Of course, filming inside a pyramid isn't an option so he had creative license to tzujz up the ancient Egyptians' design work. Look out for a pop star Easter egg. 'I was once in a birthday cake with Grace Jones at Naomi Campbell's 40th birthday party – she was popping out of it to sing and I was working the mechanism – and I made one of the statues in the pyramid look like a Nefertiti version of Grace Jones. The actors loved that.'And the chess? 'Guy loves to play chess – they spent ages playing on set.' When can I watch Fountain of Youth? The Guy Ritchie adventure movie will be landing on Apple TV+ on May 23. Is there a trailer? There is – you can watch it below. The 101 best action movies of all time to get your blood pumping. .
Korea Herald
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Korean Canadian artist Zadie Xa shortlisted for Turner Prize 2025
Korean Canadian artist Zadie Xa has been nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize this year for her presentation at Sharjah Biennial 16, the Tate announced Wednesday. Xa is among four nominees, alongside British artist Rene Matic, Iraqi artist Sami Mohammad and London-based artist Nnena Kalu. An exhibition of the nominated artists' works will be held at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford, England, from September this year to February 2026 as part of the Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture celebrations. The winner will be announced Dec. 9 at an award ceremony in Bradford, a northern English county of West Yorkshire. The prize comes with a cash award of 25,000 pounds ($33,200). Xa, 42, is known for her powerful installations and paintings that interweave the stories of Korean shamanic rituals, myths and folklore. The presentation she was nominated for, 'Moonlit Confessions Across Deep Sea Echoes: Your Ancestors Are Whales, and Earth Remembers Everything,' was created in collaboration with Benito Mayor Vallejo at Sharjah Biennial 16, encompassing the forms of mural, textiles, sound and painting. 'Her vibrant installation blended a soundscape with ethereal paintings, bojagi patchwork and an interactive sculpture of over 650 brass wind chimes inspired by Korean shamanic ritual bells. The jury felt that this cohesive work was a sophisticated development of Xa's reflective and enchanting practice,' according to the Tate. "Bojagi" is the Korea's traditional wrapping cloth. Kalu was nominated for her presentation as part of 'Conversations' at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool, England, and 'Hanging Sculpture 1 to 10' at Manifesta 15 in Barcelona, Spain. The artist makes cocoonlike shapes out of paper and textiles that are bound, layered and wrapped, the process of which is rooted in repeated gestures. Matic — who captures fleeting moments of joy in daily life and expressions of tenderness within a wider political context — was nominated for the solo exhibition, 'As Opposed to The Truth,' at CCA Berlin. Exploring memory and loss through art, Sami was recognized by the jury for his large-scale paintings that represent war and exile shown at the solo exhibition 'After the Storm' at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England.
The National
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Turner Prize shortlist includes Iraqi artist Mohammed Sami and Zadie Xa's work at Sharjah Biennial
The shortlist for this year's Turner Prize has significant regional representation, with an artist from Iraq and work from the Sharjah Biennial both nominated for the prestigious award. Mohammed Sami has been shortlisted for After the Storm, his solo exhibition at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, England. The Iraqi painter is known for his sprawling, vibrant scenes that are often devoid of human presence. His depictions of empty dining tables and bedrooms serve as poignant representations of exile, showing how everyday objects trigger memories and feelings of loss. His work springs from his own experiences as a refugee. After the Storm ran at Blenheim Palace between July and October 2024. Sami produced a new series of works for his solo exhibition, blending personal history with that of Blenheim Palace, which was built in the early 18th century. The castle was presented by Queen Anne to the First Duke of Marlborough after this victory at the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and was where Winston Churchill was born. As such, the castle is a monument to military triumph. The castle is filled with portraits and narrative artworks, themes contrasted in Sami's work, which allude to absence and the consequences of war. A presentation from the 2025 Sharjah Biennial has also been nominated for the Turner Prize. The work was created by Korean-Canadian artist Zadie Xa, in collaboration with Spanish artist Benito Mayor Vallejo. It features several disparate elements, including a chandelier-like piece that takes cues from wind chimes made from seashells and rattles from Korean shamanic traditions. It comprises more than 1,000 brass bells that are arranged in the shape of a conch shell. The artwork is part of a room-filling installation called Moonlit Confessions Across Deep Sea Echoes: Your Ancestors Are Whales, and Earth Remembers Everything. One of the highlights is a mixed-media artwork that features a surreal scene that visualises the title of the presentation, with whales swimming atop an arid landscape. Other shortlisted artists include Scottish multimedia artist Nnena Kalu, who has been nominated for her installations at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool and Manifesta 15 in Barcelona. The vibrant sculptures are made of disparate materials, including paper, textiles, cellophane and tape. Finally, Rene Matic is in the running for As Opposed to The Truth, a solo exhibition at CCA Berlin. The exhibition by the UK artist presents personal photographs alongside installations and sound. Works by all four shortlisted artists will be presented in an exhibition at the Cartwright Hall Art Gallery in Bradford from September 27 to February 22. The winner of the annual prize will be announced during a ceremony in Bradford on December 9. The first place winner will receive £25,000 ($33,334), whereas runners-up will be awarded £10,000 each. Last year's winner of the prize was Jasleen Kaur. The UK artist famously called for a ceasefire in Gaza as she accepted the prestigious art award at a ceremony in London. The annual Turner Prize, named after the landscape painter J M W Turner, is awarded every other year at the Tate Britain. Venues outside London host the award-winning ceremony during alternate iterations.
