3 – 27 September 2022

Sanctuary

Information

Kirsty Nixon 

“The noise of life today is constant, and nothing has made this more apparent than the bumpy journey the world has experienced over the last few years. Although a challenging time, the break we had from the world gave us time to check in with ourselves in a way that we have never had the time to experience. Many of us re-evaluated life and what is means to us. Connections with family were strengthened and/or tested, but truths were also realised.

Although I can feel the tides shifting and life returning to a kind of semi-normal or new-normal, there is a part of me that holds that downtime as a cherished memory; one that allowed us to hear the birds over life’s noise, to stop and quieten the rushing mind, and to just be there for ourselves – within our sanctuary.”

Jane Downes

Familiar forms envelop us, defining our identity.

“I am interested in feelings evoked by shape, form and pattern, how we react to scale and light and the influence this has on Art, Architecture and Design.

I use forms in my work that resonate with me, both natural and manmade. Often common or from childhood, sometimes delicate and fleeting objects from nature, sometimes robust geometric forms from popular culture and industry.

Specific themes in my work include colonisation, security and shelter along with more abstract themes commenting on the human condition, challenging preconceptions of purpose and beauty, valuable and lowly, masculine and feminine, permanence and the ephemeral. These dichotomies are also reflected in my use of recycled, found and industrial materials.”