'Going going' Photo: By Judith Bromley.
‘The impact is heightened by the curator’s imaginative use of the historic setting.’
Seeking routes: Dorothy Jerrome visits an exhibition at Swarthmoor Hall
The principles of stewardship and reverence guide Seeking Routes, an art exhibition currently showing at Swarthmoor Hall. The theme is sustainability, the fragility of the natural world, and the artistic and spiritual response to it.
The exhibition is a collaboration between Swarthmoor Hall and the Quaker Arts Network (QAN). Two dozen Quaker artists offer textile art, ceramics, painting, photography, collage, pyrography (images burned onto wood), print-making and three-dimensional installations. The artists’ notebooks are also presented, each accompanied by a powerful statement from the artist.
Each item has an impact. An oil painting of melt-water prompts the thought that, while the image is naturalistic, it looks as if the whole painting is melting and one might return to find it on the floor. A small, life-sized till receipt – embroidery on fabric – incorporating Advices & queries 41 captures vividly the dilemmas faced by the modern consumer.
Curator Sally Oliver’s aim is to look at some of the issues affecting the world negatively, but also some of the ways we are working to reduce the impact of climate change. It takes in the diversity and grandeur of the world we live in, and how we engage positively with our environment. We are invited to imagine what a radical faith response might be.
Every work in the exhibition speaks to our collective condition and prompts us to reflect on our personal responses. The impact is heightened by the curator’s imaginative use of the historic setting – stunning quilts on the themes of migrating turtles and the great barrier reef lie on the beds of Margaret Fell and George Fox; another in the room above illustrates the Rumi message: ‘There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth.’ Hanging above the entrance to the great hall, where early Friends gathered, is a series of textile panels on the theme of ‘Loving Earth’, a QAN community arts project. As Swarthmoor Hall’s manager Jane Pearson says, it has always been a place of renewal and witness. This exhibition continues that theme.
Friends, if you find yourselves in Cumbria this summer or are thinking of making a trip, this exhibition is worth a visit. You’ll be excited and inspired by the creative vision of Quaker artists, offered in the service of this most important topic.
The exhibition continues until 8 September, and is accompanied by a series of lectures, workshops and performances each weekend. For more details of these, see www.swarthmoorhall.co.uk/news-and-events or http://quakerarts.net/events.
