The Spring of Escapism

8 April - 6 May 2020

Spring gently whispers to us of summer's arrival as she wakes herself and winter falls back to slumber. This year she may be shocked by what she awakens to see, the forests empty but her gardens a hive of activity. The simple act of gardening is one of the purest forms of escapism, allowing us to channel our focus, to create life anew, to watch it grow and flourish, to make our own personal Eden. It is easy to feel in our current situation that is life is at a standstill, but the seasons never stop and whilst we stay home, outside life is being breathed across our lands, the bluebells are dancing on the woodland floor and the wild garlic aromatises the warm air. The breeze creeps in through our windows, enticing and captivating our imaginations, calling softly to come and play. These images aim to enable you to do just that, to let your mind play with spring as she gracefully washes over us. To catch a breath of that sweet air one needs only to gaze upon the photography of Susan Derges, her macro photography following bluebells from bulb to flower.

Our dreams have become cluttered. The Sandman takes our stress and our anxiety, using them to paint twisted realities for our resting minds to walk. Tierney Gearons vivid use of colour in her work explores this well, leaving her images to feel more like a fantasy than a piece of art. Pierre Boucher explores these themes also by abstracting our views of the human body. Body and form is so natural to us that to see it distorted in any manner helps the viewer to understand the simple things so easily taken for granted. Reflection like this is a crucial part to true escapism,we must understand what is around us before we can escape.

In our time of reflection this carefully curated collection of images aims to let the viewer see the world under a different gaze. These images allow our mind to wonder, travel to new worlds and to explore what was there before. From William Klein's collection of images of simple everyday life to Richard Misrach’s photography which reimagines the world as an alien landscape. The true beauty of all of this collection lies in the beholder, let it captivate, transport and move you.


Featured artists include; Grégoire Müller, Willy Ronis, Rogie Andre, Richard Misrach, Roger Parry, Nobuyoshi Araki, Bill Brandt, Marc Quinn, Damion Berger, Susan Derges, Edward Curtis, Pierre Boucher, William Klein, Constantin Brancusi & Tierney Gearon.