Shoaling

16 - 26 May 2024

An Introduction To SHOALING

Whilst the idea of a cooperative of artists might sound like an oxymoron to some, SHOALING proudly provides evidence of why artists working collectively can be such a worthwhile enterprise. Bringing together in one display the work of such a disparate range of practitioners is certainly a challenge, especially when the ambition is not only to spotlight and celebrate the skill, uniqueness and ingenuity of each artist's output but also to create an integrated whole that is more than the sum of the parts.

Much of the work on display has been created in direct, sometimes surprising, response to the fascinating particularities of the Regency Town House, with its elegant features and fragmentary palimpsests of a long history of use. More than this, the exhibition seeks to conduct a meaningful conversation between the different ‘voices’ that find articulation in the rich palette of approaches on show.

The process of negotiating, organising and delivering a public outcome of this scale and kind, with a programme of interpretive events, would present a challenge in any circumstances. Still, where 15 different artistic perspectives are attempting to be individual and yet find congress, it's especially complex. But the process is also rewarding, requiring new levels of interaction and understanding between the exhibiting participants and a new collective seriousness of purpose.

The display, from the outset, has been built upon the desire to embody that art school cliché of ‘juxtaposition’, of artworks to context and between artworks. It represents for the viewer an embodied discovery - of collisions of material contrast and echoes of resemblance and affinity. It whispers and debates (and maybe even shouts?) of the shifting conceptual, cultural and historical frames of reference. In the end, it offers a resonant experiential exploration of difference, working in cooperation.

What are Little Girls Made Of

2021 & 2024

Cotton lace, spices, confectionery, plastic netting, nut shells, mother of pearl buttons, galvanised iron hooks, string, sundry beach pickings, vintage household linens, 19th Century wooden dolls bed,

45 x 65 cm

Channelled Memories - Extended 2024,

Stripped ethernet cables, cable connectors, 150 x 180 cm (approx.)

My three exhibited works depict ways in which materials and methods can subvert and, at the same time, add to depth of meaning.