The Change Within at J/M Gallery, Portobello Road
At the beginning of May I was involved in a group exhibition, ‘The Change Within’ held and curated by Amelia Maxwell at J/M Gallery on Portobello Road. The show centred around the subject of seasonal change, with 7 artists all exploring this theme in a variety of mediums and styles. The artists included were myself, Hannah Rollings, Jo Rance, Lisa Hardy, Lucy Wayne, Natalia Bagniewska and Sophie Daffern.
My collection of 6 paintings were titled, ‘Falling Colour’, focusing on the seasonal change in nature but also other changes in life. Living in a city it’s harder to pick out the subtle changes that occur with the change of season, but I try my hardest to really notice. It sneaks up on you slowly then suddenly all at once bursts new life; buds on branches, bulbs bloom, leaves unfurl and birds chorus. A veil of colour spreads across the monotonous grey of the landscape. It’s always a surprise when nature awakes again after a long winter, I forget each year how magical it is. These works are a celebration of those changes; a cacophony of colour, light, movement and energy.
I feel lucky to have grown up with a mother who’s own love for the natural world, made me stop and notice everything around me; the change in seasons, the birds in the garden, the flowers blooming in May, the blackberries in the hedgerows. Her influence sparked my own love for it, her knowledge and interest is a passion passed down from her own mother. Now we both relish in the joy of spotting the first swallow to arrive from Africa, the first shoot of a tulip bulb, the smell of a tomato leaf, the taste of a fig grown from the garden, and lots more wonderful, small but incredibly important things. This shared love of nature is a connection through generations and the reason I always come back to it, the greatest source of inspiration, and my link to the past.
Here are a few images of the works and a few from the exhibition! All are now online and available to buy through Amelia Maxwell.
