NEW ‘TIME AND TIDE’ EXHIBITION WAITS FOR NO MAN, OR WOMAN

TIME AND TIDE will be shown in the Long Gallery, upstairs in the beautiful 250-year-old building of Black Swan Arts in the heart of the renowned creative market town of Frome in Somerset. The gallery is open daily 10am - 4pm and is free entry.

TIME AND TIDE explores seasons of change and transformation inspired by lunar folklore, and is my second major solo show, following on from my well-regarded 2021 show, ‘Moonlit’, at MAKE Southwest, in Devon. The exhibition includes The Museum of Nearly Lost and not Quite Found, a collaborative piece made by me using contributions from members of the public to create an intriguingly presented jam jar museum.

Another work, By The Light of the Moon, sees me stitching in time with the moon cycle every night for a year, to create a large-scale piece with an overview of the hand-stitched data that shows 13 moons over 384 nights in the form of a grid of ink-dyed pocket handkerchiefs. Here is what some visitors to my last show had to say about my work:

’Very touching and thought provoking, beautifully made and presented’

‘Stunning exhibition; gentle and kind, full of patience and thought’

My work captures things at the cusp of change – a moon, a moth, a girl, a woman, the tide. In this exhibition I try to show how the rituals of daily noticing, recording and making can foster appreciation of the quiet transformation happening around us. I’m inspired by traditional folk craft, and I embrace the prosaic nature of these techniques to create work that become love-letters to the passing of time.

My work is influenced by nature and the marks we leave behind and attempting to preserve both. I find myself trying to straddle the gap between human control and letting nature, the elements, life cycles and time take the lead – adapting my materials accordingly, and in response to – a situation or object as I find it. I seek to catch a transient moment and hold it forever

The exhibition opens on 2 March and runs until 14 April, 10am - 4pm each day

Black Swan Arts, in the heart of market town of Frome in Somerset. Their vibrant and varied programme features contemporary and innovative art and crafts. They are a popular arts venue for the creatives of Frome and beyond.

Long Gallery | Black Swan Arts, 2 Bridge Street, Frome, Somerset, BA11 1BB

UNDER A COVER OF DARKNESS

Following on from Moonlit my solo exhibition at MAKE Southwest in 2021, I found myself compelled to give the paper moths that had been held in suspended cocoons as part of an installation piece, ‘Like A Moth To The Moon’, the chance to fly!

This wearable piece is about emerging out into the world after the pandemic, but also about inner growth and empowerment (quiet transformation and release from our sometimes self-imposed 'cocoons').
When the coat is worn, the moths in the lining are hidden from all but the wearer. They cause mild discomfort as their papery wings rustle with the movement of the body reminding the wearer of what lies beneath the surface.
Should the wearer desire, the coat can be reversed to expose the hidden moths to the outer world.

Most of the work in this coat is hidden in the lining, but I wanted an external clue as to the story the garment is telling. There are politely anarchic 'stencilled' words hand-stitched on the reserve which quietly shout it's message too. These words were inspired by Anais Nin’s quote:

‘And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom’.

This piece is currently on display at MAKE Southwest as part of their members summer show until October 8th 2022.