A well-known Cromer artist and photographer pair are hoping their latest exhibition will - quite literally – raise the roof.
Painter Paul Darley and former Professional Photographer of the Year David Morris, who regularly team up to stage joint exhibitions, decided that because their new show, in the town council chambers at Cromer's North Lodge Park, is slightly off the beaten track, they would need to do 'something big' to attract attention.
The exhibition will feature images by Yorkshire-born Mr Morris, whose recent projects have included behind-the-scenes studies of performers at Great Yarmouth's Hippodrome circus, and 'Nocturnes', a series of atmospheric night-time scenes captured along the north Norfolk coast.
These will go on show alongside artwork by Mr Darley, who paints Cromer fishermen, figures on the beach and Norfolk landscapes, and whose work has been exhibited in Norfolk, London and Switzerland.
Keen to ensure the show was a success, Mr Morris, who juggles photography projects with teaching creative advertising at colleges and universities all over Europe, came up with the idea of running a series of 'teasers' on Facebook.
The poster-style images show the roof of the iconic Cromer building starting to shake, then emit steam before finally cracking and exploding to reveal the two smiling, giant-sized artists.
'Because of where North Lodge Park is, we are relying on passing footfall, so social media was going to be really important,' Mr Morris explained.
Thanks to the friends' innovative advertising campaign, the pop-up-style North Lodge Park exhibition has already attracted quite a bit of interest, with tongue in cheek comments on Facebook asking whether 'emotions were running high at the last town council meeting?', and: 'Does it take off?'
'I thought nobody had taken any notice at first,' Mr Morris said. 'But I was surprised by how many people had seen it and wondered what the cracking roof and steam was all about.'
He is hoping that the campaign will do the trick and attract a good crowd.
'It's a lovely building in a prominent position, and it's a great space for an exhibition,' he said.
The exhibition runs at North Lodge Park, Overstrand Road Cromer, NR27 OAH from October 22-24. For more information, phone 01263 512254.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here