Turbulent and confusing times breed potent artistic expressions, and this exhibition is no exception. The works extend themselves as physical manifestations of concerns debated by the artists - the things that keep them awake at night, such as the ever-present threat of environmental catastrophe. In a post-religious society that is no longer coddling us with naive optimism, it is often difficult to feel hopeful for the future. And so the pair found themselves longing for the catharthis of sacred iconography and ritualistic experience, outside of religion. Percolated through their mediums of choice, interlocked in a dialogue of poetic clashing forms, we see the artists’ visions of spiritual naturalism for this pivotal, unobvious era.

Ania Pieranska’s piece Down to Earth deconstructs the foundation myth of human exceptionalism. By repositioning the figures from one of the most significant christian symbols - the sistine’s chapel's ceiling, the piece shifts our collective attention from the supernatural heights, back to the earthly context, in all its natural ritualistic superbness.

Nicholas Shurey’s installation Wood Wood draws upon the importance of forests and trees within European folklore. It depicts a fallen ‘ritual tree’, where it was common to pour a little of any harvest or new ferment over the roots as a symbol of gratitude and plea for protection. Rediscovering this act of sacrifice, the piece urges us to become more cognisant relatives to, and consumers of, the matter surrounding us.

 ‘Down to Earth’ aims to poetically deconstruct the foundation myth of human-centrism  - the conviction that we, as humans, are elevated above other earthly matters, destined to dominate and rule over them. 

As plainly put in the verses of the Genesis, we’re instructed to: ‘Fill the earth and govern it.’. For centuries, we adopted this managerial and exploitative attitude towards nature, forgetting our fundamental codependency with other lifeforms. 

By repositioning the figures from one of the most significant christian symbols - the sistine’s chapel's ceiling - ‘Down to Earth’ shifts our collective attention from the supernatural heights, back to the earthly context, in all its natural superbness. It suggests that in this new reality, we belong among and not above.

Through the paintings of exposed female bodies which reinterpret the choreography of renaissance ‘Ignudi’, the piece suggests that perhaps it’s time to, instead of striving for perfection, simply become vulnerable. It recognises that the new earthly balance will require us to enter a fragile interconnectedness with our environment and to uncover what’s soft in us and what’s capable of compassion.

By depicting what’s around - friends, the rocky landscapes of the island I live on, I try to open us to a more rhizomatic narrative, without central figures of imagined saviours, without a recipe for deliverance. Just with a simple invitation to stay hopeful and this time assume a position much more down to earth.

learn more at down - to - earth