Highlights: 11 - 17 November, 2024

Drawing the Drapes, 2022 - 2023

William Luz

A collection of drawings thinking about drawing and it’s connection to drapery, in gestural exercises and academic instruction, and my relationship 

Loss (Ball n Tress), 2024

Lucy Brown

Made from Artists Hair. Hair Conditioner. Hairspray.

‘Loss (Ball ‘n’ Tress)’ consists of hand spun hair-tresses suspended over the roof trusses and hand constructed hairballs scattered over the floor, gathering dust. The work references the in-situ of Salts Mills’ former spinning room through the act of spinning by hand. The Artist taught herself to spin using her own hair. This repetitive learning action embeds itself into the artists muscle memory, building on the years of making. Like the body, hair physically reacts to emotional stress and shock. After the deaths of two close family relatives in the first 4 months of 2024, Lucy spun her grief into her hair.

‘Loss’  was installed in the Roof Space on the 4th floor of Salts Mill in Saltaire, West Yorkshire, England. Due to the Roof Spaces’ atmospheric conditions such as drafts, damp, cold, sun warmth/light, raindrops, moist air and body movements,  Loss reacted to this ever-changing environment, by being unruly, unravelling, frizzing, rolling and drifting about, becoming fragile, unstable and part of the roof space.

100 x 210 x 100 cm variable

A Glimpse of Calm Amidst the Chaos, 2024

Sue Stone

"A Glimpse of Calm Amidst the Chaos" captures a 1940s family posed on a stile, embodying a fleeting moment of serenity in a world which seems to be run by lunatics. Set against an idyllic rural landscape, the family sits with an air of innocence, contrasting starkly with the chaos around them. Through a mix of hand stitch, free machine stitch and appliqué, Sue Stone weaves a tactile story of continuity and contradiction. By blending traditional techniques with contemporary reflections, the piece invites viewers to ponder how much – or how little – the world has changed. The work speaks to a longing for stability in uncertain times, drawing attention to the persistent tension between personal sanctuary and societal upheaval.

Materials & Techniques

Hand stitch and free machine stitch:cotton and wool threads on a cotton/linen background with applied recycled cotton lawn clothing fabrics.

38.5 x 51.5 cm

SO YOU WANT IT DARKER USA?, 2004 - 2017

Phil Whiting

I started this painting on canvas after visits to the Death Camps and completed it months after the USA elected Donald Trump as President for the first time in 2016. This is its first showing.

160 x 70 cm