Siobhan Tarr - The Mystery Mosaic Tour

Siobhan Tarr - 2013 Destination Unknown

Siobhan Tarr has always been one of those pleasant mysteries for me. An artist who I have worked with for two years since Nottingham's Lighbite exhibition in February 2011. I've exchanged numerous emails with her and she telephoned me once from her home in Germany, totally confusing me by talking with a Euro-Antipodean twang but we've never met in person.

Siobhan is primarily a mosaic artist but obviously has a flair for design and a keen sense of humour. Like many artists she posses destructive traits. She starts her artwork by smashing up plates and cups and decapitating porcelain figures. Although this might make her feel better, it is not the sole reason and is part of her overall system of working. She finds inspiration from the piles of porcelain chaos and her sometimes chaotic family life as a mother to then create order through her beautiful artworks.




(second from left) Siobhan's magnetic artwork
Rarities 2011, Hastings, England


Siobhan has exhibited widely in Germany and the craquelure of her work spreads slowly around the globe, but that isn't anything too unusual for this well travelled artist. Siobhan was born here in England (Maidstone) before moving to Australia. After a life-changing encounter with a handsome German backpacker she was destined for a life in the land of Lederhosen rather than skimpy swimming trunks. Now she's happily ensconced in the little village of Seefeld, near Bad Oldesloe, Germany with her husband and 3 children.



Siohan Tarr - Headline artist

In 2011, after we'd finished a mammoth year of exhibiting over 1,000 magnets on the streets of the world I hit the internet looking for new adventures and formats in public art. I stumbled across another mystery, a series of German towns had been invaded by a night time artist who had placed....yes you guessed it.... mosaics in public places. As I read about it on the popular Landsberg Blog one place name seemed vaguely familiar, that of Bad Oldesloe....now could it be?

So I contacted the local council and they directed me to their site specific map.
Right place but was it the right artist.....?

Unlikely?

My romantic heart had blurred my usually canny judgement. This was an underground mosaic art movement whose web stretched across the whole of the world. If Siobhan had been the 'Goldfinger' of tiled art then surely I'd have been inducted into this clandestine fellowship, with my street-art credentials.
So this meant Siobhan Tarr wasn't the 'Banksy of Bad Oldesloe'. Drats!

 

Back to reality and Patternotion.

Siobhan has kept up her air of mystery with her latest submission 'Destination Unknown' (top of the page)

She says

"This year, once a month, one of our family of 5 will plan and

organize  a day out to who knows where. 

 You can´t beat a good old mystery tour,  there´s a special thrill in not knowing

where you´re going or what´s in store .

 Lots of unknown fun and adventures to be had by all."

 

I'll be looking forward to hearing about where they all end up!

Hopefully I'll get a knock on the door one day, I'll be the last stop on the mystery tour and I'll get a chance to meet Siobhan and her family.

 

AL