Roundabout: Gran Whistle Turismo

A gigantic, racing party horn? Leave that to British artist Lee Mcdonald. He turned this old, beige-golden Volkswagen Golf into a spectacular rally car within a couple of months, with on top of it a special creation. A cone-shaped windcatcher is attached to the roof of the car, with an enlarged party horn connected to it – the ones on birthday parties. But this one is made of enormous textile patchwork by textile artist Wies Noest. If the driver only drives hard enough – and catches enough wind – the horn is blown. 

With the car McDonald creates an ode towards the rich culture of self-made rally cars and the amateur races in Friesland and the fun, inventiveness and community that is a part of this. The horn on the car-roof is fun, provocative and at the same time absurd. Local entrepreneurs are being involved in the project by asking them for a sticker of their business as sponsorship for the car, just like other race and rally vehicles.

During the exhibition period the car will ‘escape’ from the roundabout and take place in an actual race on amateur circuits: a contest with the ultimate goal of making the horn on top whistle. Follow our socials (see below) to stay up to date and to witness the race online!

About the artists

Lee McDonald (1979) is born in Plymouth (UK) and lives and works in Groningen, where he graduated in 2017 from the Frank Mohr Institute.  Operating with the principles of mechanisms and kinetic art, the actual artwork for Lee McDonald is not the object, but the motion of the object. To construct his artworks McDonald often uses materials that used to have a clear, active function – like old engines of vehicles or core mechanisms of toys. Combined with diverse other materials that are – usually just coincidentally – at hand, new, temporal kinetic sculptures arise out of these old mechanisms, which not unfrequently have an absurd and impractical character.

Wies Noest (1945) lives and works on Oudebildtzijl. She makes objects of textile materials which are employed in various combinations in (usually moving) installations. The installations are placed in nature, in buildings and in urban areas. With continually varying combinations of objects Wies reacts to specific possibilities of locations, the field of vision, the weather and the light of 

that moment. Every experience brings her new insights and actions. It is a process. Every process will become slowly visible through the registrations.

Follow the project on our socials!

@kunstinitiatief.vhdg

facebook.com/KunstinitiatiefVHDG

and share your pictures of the Gran Whistle Turisimo with the hashtag #granwhistleturisimo