Secrets & Shadows

01/05/08

This show was organised and curated by Caitlin Smail. It was held in conjunction with the paperback launch of 'Thirteen', the new novel by Sebastian Beaumont.

The twilight world of 'Thirteen': Making sense of the world around us is a central part of our being. From the earliest thoughts, through our journey into life, we define ourselves with respect to our understanding and knowledge, the people we know and love and events which have shaped our lives. 'Secrets and Shadows' is a show featuring the works of a collection of 13 artists, each on a voyage of discovery. Common themes are the disquiet we all feel when confronted by situations outside the familiar, the ripples that flow from unexpected events or revelations, the de-stabilisation that a new perspective can wreck on the old, safe and familiar.

The discovery of the new can be a two-edged sword in that it can create possibilities for the future but could also initiate change that forces us to question our perspective of the past. In small ways this is a positive process of learning and renewal, but the impact of the new can cause larger more seismic shifts in our awareness. These changes can uncover secrets hidden or repressed by our subconscious and shed light on the darker recesses of our psyches. They can cause us to re-evaluate our lives and our priorities, to question our relationships and motivations. ??In this show, each artist has used his or her journey to acquire self knowledge and imbue their work with the spiritual, emotional, intellectual passion which accompanies development and the quest for meaning.

These works are the product of those journeys, drawn together as a collective expression of the things sitting just outside our fields of view in the Secrets and Shadows of our lives.