09/05/2008
RESPECTacles relaunched
A breathtaking work of art which highlights the horrors of the Holocaust is going on display again - due to massive public demand.
Thousands visited the original five-day exhibition at the Town Hall in January to commemorate National Holocaust Memorial Day.
Now it is set to shock and astound visitors when it goes on display at World Museum Liverpool.
The impressive RESPECTacles display uses a 100,000 pairs of glasses donated by the public to create a striking, atmospheric artwork. Vistors will be stunned by the sheer scale of the impressive piece which goes on show on Wednesday 14th May.
Exhibition organisers have also received glasses and messages of support from a host of celebrities including: Ringo Starr, Daniel Radcliffe, Tony Blair, Yoko Ono, Steven Fry, Jerry Springer, Paul O'Grady, Ronnie Corbett, Michael Fish, Julie Walters, Peter Bowles, Julian Clarey, Archbishop Desmond Tu Tu, Julia Baird, Trisha Goddard, Janet Street Porter, Matt Lucas and Joanna Lumley. All their donated eyewear is on display.
Liverpool's Lord Mayor Councillor Paul Clark said: "It is wonderful that we have managed to re-launch RESPECTacles. It is a poignant and visually stunning exhibit which will enhance an already superb Capital of Culture year. It is beautifully created and the great thing is so many more people can pop in and have a look at it. It is simply breathtaking."
An image of piles of mangled pairs of glasses was one of the stark remainders of the sheer scale of death and human suffering during the Holocaust.
The unique RESPECTacles project wants to put across the message that all individuals can play their part in genocide prevention simply by having, showing and insisting upon RESPECT for other human beings and for their differences.
Every school in the city has been invited to visit the exhibition.
John Millard, executive director - collections management at National Museums Liverpool, said: "The brief showing of the RESPECTacles exhibitions at the Town Hall earlier this year left audiences awestruck. We are very pleased that the exhibition team agreed to show RESPECTacles again at World Museum where it can be seen by many more people this summer. It's dramatic. It's moving. And we're proud to be showing it at the museum."
RESPECTacles formed part of a series of events leading up to the National Holocaust Memorial Day event which was hosted in the city in January.
Following the exhibition, the collected glasses will be donated through Vision Aid Overseas to visually impaired people in the developing world.
Sam and Elise Beilin and the Richard Beilin Memorial Fund sponsored the exhibition. Sam said: "It is incumbent upon us to make sure that people do not forget the millions of people who were killed and that such an atrocity cannot happen again. RESPECTacles fulfils this objective and I hope that it will benefit the people of Liverpool and especially the children in this the Culture year. I am extremely grateful to Liverpool City Council and Jean Evans of the Lord Mayors Office for all their assistance."
Beryl Greenberg of Greenberg Glass contracts who sponsored the impressive mirrors said how proud they feel to be associated with such an outstanding exhibition.
The exhibition runs from 14th May till 17th August 2008. People can view the free exhibition from 10am till 5pm.
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