ANCIENT and Modern is the appropriate name for an art exhibition now on show at Malvern Theatres.

Artist and academic Peter Cobb is exhibiting digital prints which combine computers with the traditional virtues of hand drawing.

"For the past few years, I have been using a simple drawing programme on the computer as an additional sketchbook to try out ideas from sculpture," he said.

"All the images relate to sculptures that I have seen, made or planned, and often incorporate sites that I have visited or am about to visit, sometimes to install a sculpture.

"Some of the prints superimpose the lost wax bronze casting with human circulatory systems, and the polystyrene coffee cups that are used within the casting process as the base become metaphors for human organs, and replace the classical images as the subjects for sculpture.

"Different ages and locations become confused, and the author becomes identified with the subject, and the statuary becomes confused with the human."

Most of the prints in the exhibition used the Paint program, though more re-cent ones used PhotoShop.

"All the images are drawn with the mouse, and I have enjoyed the contrast of the hand-drawn image and icons of ancient art with the pixilation and the flat graphic mark associated with contemporary digital media.

"The interchangeability of images and locations seems appropriate for work made on the computer."

Peter Cobb lives in Malvern, but he is also the head of BA Fine art at the University of East London. He has exhibited his sculptures, drawings and prints extensively.

Ancient and Modern is on show at Malvern Theatres until May 17.