Exhibition in a horsebox

Peter Robson and Ian Dashper

If you passed through Rochdale Town Centre on Friday or Saturday, you may have seen an unusually positioned horsebox transformed into an art exhibition.

Artists Peter Robson and Ian Dashper set up the display as part of their tour around the north of England and were showing off their talents over the weekend with the theme of the First World War.

Painter and history buff Peter Robson had a number of pieces on display. He said: I have, since being a child, drawn, painted, mused and dreamed, and I guess these could be considered some of the constituent parts of being an artist.

“However, as a teenager I started to reflect more on the world and my analysis of world events that were taking place began to develop. The Vietnam War had a big impact on me and watching the horrendous carpet bombing left me numb.”

“Predominantly I paint in water colours which, I find, lends itself to a speed of thought which fits well with my work. People frequently consider my work to be either surrealist or expressionistic and I am indeed influenced by German expressionism, surrealism and Nordic noir. Key artists are German painters Otto Dix, Max Ernst and Max Beckmann, along with the writers Ibsen and Stringberg.

“Since being a young boy I looked at Otto Dix’s work and marvelled at his skill and composition.”

He added: “It’s great to be here in Rochdale to share our art and talk to some of the local people.”

Ian Dashper, a digital artist, said: “The tour has been really great and we’ve enjoyed moving around and showing our work. Rochdale has been a great trip.”