The Land Between Us

you will have to walk

all round it to see it

you will have to stay

with it to know it

(Thomas A Clark, 2008)

The Land Between Us

Exhibition Summary

The Whitworth gallery is home to a vast amount of art and this exhibition features a small selection of this. The exhibition is a collection of images of landscapes. Often, these landscapes were created in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, yet the Whitworth has placed old and new imagery side by side. 

My Thoughts

When entering the gallery, immediately the viewer is struck by a large, imposing, dark forest. The exhibition has quite literally installed the outdoors, indoors. To reach 'The Land Between us', the visitor has to walk right through the night time forest. I found this entrance fantastic and it immediately draws you in wanting more. When you have found your way through, the gallery opens up and showcases many images, whether watercolour, prints or paintings of a variety of landscapes. I liked the exhibition as it showed many techniques and methods of creating an image aswell as featuring past work and more contemporary pieces. However, the forest at the beginning is what I remember when leaving. I like the the viewer becomes part of the environment, becoming part of the land, the exhibition. 

My current work involves working outdoors, using the space to create something homely and technically something you would find indoors. Therefore, I like that the Whitworth has done the same, yet flip reversed the idea by bring the outside in. I think to change people's surroundings creates intrigue and interest. To stumble into a forest when inside an art gallery is memorable and surreal. I found this installation very powerful aswell as helping me question my own practice and inspire my work.