Siân Torrington
27 June - 18 July
Sometimes art making feels like an act of self-acceptance. What are these tangled, drippy, complex, funny things? They are you, and me, and what’s between us. They push and pull, unravel and stick together. They are proud and stand up. They are tired, and slump against a wall, their back drooping and moulding to what’s already there.
Siân Torrington is interested in the structures that we build, not the ones that are built for us. We live in these structures that already exist, bending our bodies and who we are to try to fit and survive them. But what happens when we build our own, that reflect our bodies, experience and meaning making? We are a messy being, poured into an appearance of coherence. We are complex, mysterious eco-systems, in bodies that are constantly in flux and change, becoming and changing, responding and growing. Many things are true at once.
Siân creates visible, physical structures through drawing and sculpture, that reflect the beings we are. In woven together pieces of ribbon, fabric and paint, we see moments of discovering support, reaching out, fragility and courage. Process-based drawings and collages in pastels, charcoal and pencil are made without a plan, building one colour up to make friends with another. Shapes and forms are organic, diverse. The viewer is invited on a visual adventure, traversing slides, curves, swooshes and sticky bits. Where is the beginning and where is the end? Everything is connected, and you are welcomed into this permissive space where you are allowed to make your own connections. It is about feeling.
Every connection between materials is reflective of the step before. Because this paint has solidified, now I can build a lace net. Because the lace net is here, I can prop this string of sequins to reach that other edge. People often ask Siân if she starts with a plan of what she’s going to make. The answer is no, she starts with a line, which leads to another line. Experience is lived, it’s doing. Every day is full of risk, trial and error, surprises and feeling. To be human is to be messy! In Siân’s work she tries to represent this process we all experience, but rarely make visible.
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In place of the traditional artist’s talk there will be a live performance in response to the exhibition.
Band Sensations responds live
Saturday 11 July, 2pm in the gallery
Missed the performance?
Hear it over on Siân’s website
