Milestone @ ECA

My first thought is "Am I early?" Day four of the Milestone exhibition and the sculptures sit as large lumps of shapeless rock. However, the whiz of chainsaws, chink of chisels and banging of hammers amid clouds of dust and people wandering around with masks implies that something is happening. It isn't the latest outbreak of swine flu, rather ten industrious sculptors working loudly on their art works.

This is a far cry from the typical hushed gallery – the very point of it is that the artists work on the sculptures for the duration of the exhibition, meaning that each visitor will get an entirely unique experience; it will look pretty different on day twenty compared to day four.

It's an interesting concept: visitors are encouraged to view the process and observe the skill and craft rather than the final product. It makes evident the blood, sweat and toil that an art work requires. Inside the college, an exhibition explains a bit of the background of the project with images from the far flung destinations visited by the stone carvers in the course of their research.

This is a must see for any student aspiring to be an artist; however, for the casual observer looking for some finished art, you might be better dropping by the National Gallery. [Sophie George]