Online Launch: 3rd July: Join us via zoom for a first look at the show from the gallery. This is an online event only. Barbara and Will share their ideas for the show followed by a Q&A. Sign up via Eventbrite to gain access.
Opening event at Spud Gallery: 4th July: Come to Spud in the heart of the New Forest to meet the artists and enjoy the hospitality.
Family event at Spud Gallery, 12th July: A gallery event aimed at young art fans with accompanying adults. Refreshments and an artist talk about the work, and a relaxed environment allowing children to touch and interact with the work. Sign up via Eventbrite.
Thick Smoke
What happens when a visual artist nearly loses their sight?
Shock. A shapeless void. Cataracts causing hazy vision, detached retina, black clouds, swirling floaters, flashes like an old movie, all happening suddenly. No warning. Two eyes in one body giving a different view and feeding different information to the brain. The brain attempts to catch- up with the changes and make sense of the new way of seeing the world. Hallucinations...when our eyes lie to us.
How do we respond when what we believe is fundamental to our identity is under threat? When does a setback become a gift?
Setting out to consider these questions, the experience of seeing and not seeing becomes the central story of Thick Smoke.
This is the second collaboration by Barbara J Graham and Will Woods who began working together in 2024 after meeting at ‘a space’ Arches Studios in Southampton. Barbara has recently received an Arts Council Grant to develop her practice further and Will is completing an MA in curating. For Thick Smoke, Barbara paints on natural and artificial surfaces to unpack how the world can be simultaneously in and out of focus.
In response, Will’s film and soundscape echo the visual and psychological themes of these works.
This Spud experimental exhibition has provided an opportunity to share the experience of making work through this significant period.
