Towards a New Laocoon at the Henry Moore Institute reveals the statue's appeal for recent British sculptors - including Paolozzi, Cragg and Deacon – in terms of its intertwined forms, drama and suspense, and other moments of historical interaction.
The compelling antique sculpture depicting the Trojan priest Laocoon, and his two sons, being attacked by snakes was one of the celebrated sculptures in ancient Rome. After being lost for many years it was excavated in Rome in 1506 and almost immediately put on show in the Vatican. Since then the sculpture, its restoration, and the way it tells its story, have exerted a strong fascination for artists and writers. The show runs in Leeds until August 12 2007 in the main galleries at the institute.  | | Detail: Burghers of Calais |
Also on show on the mezzanine floor of the institute is Drawing on Sculpture: Graphic Interventions on the Photographic Surface.
This exhibition uses little seen works from the Leeds collections as well as on loan pieces, to investigate the ways in which sculptors since Rodin have used photographs as a way of understanding sculptures. These annotations, in pencil and in paint, range from the graffiti-like marks to more tentative and provisional adjustments of work-in-progress. The results can be amusing, whimsical, practical, but always telling. It also runs until August 12 2007. Call 0113 2467467 for more information | 
