The Wetness of an Encounter (2025)

This Autumn, I am delighted to present a solo presentation of expanded drawing practice at Twickenham's Orleans House Gallery attending to the sensory experience of being in-with-of the landscape.

Inspired by philosopher Laura U. Marks, she explores how we might “retain the wetness of the encounter” with nature when we encounter it, recognising that the images we use to depict nature are often distilled into clean, curated images that present lively ecologies as static landscapes that exist ‘out there’ and ‘over there’. 

How do we create images of nature that are less of a closed-edged script and more of an open-edged gesture? How are our ideas about nature enriched when we capture the exchanges between things rather than just the things themselves? How can we generate forms of documentation that are more tactile and sense-able?

She uses note taking methodologies and dry materials like paint, unglazed ceramics, wire and paper to attempt to turn her fieldnotes into ‘wetter’ three-dimensional documentation through sculptural paper works and moving images. 

The exhibition invites us to reflect on the images we use to depict nature, the emotions they invoke and how this is an important part of how we rebuild our relationship to nature in times of crisis. The project draws on and extends into broader discourses within feminist geography, decolonial ecology and sensory studies.