14th – 19th March, open daily 12 – 6pm
Private view 16th March, 6 – 9pm
This exhibition brings together a selection of paintings by seven contemporary artists who have worked in direct response to J. G. Ballard’s 1962 science fiction novel ‘The Drowned World’. Molly Rose Butt, Nick Goss, Phil Goss, Christof Mascher, Amanda Houchen, Jo Mason and Alix Philippe have taken the dystopian story of a submerged London as inspiration for a new body of work.
Considered to be a founding text in the literary genre ‘climate fiction’, Ballard’s intensely visual novel depicts a future in which fluctuations in solar radiation have melted the ice caps. This pitches the planet into a new Triassic Age of unendurable heat with much of the earth’s surface becoming uninhabitable. A team of scientists navigate an inundated London, now lagoons and jungles populated by hunting reptiles. With such a distortion of reality, the scientists are increasingly drawn into their subconscious. Nightmares seep into reality and their world becomes feverish and delirious.
Themes explored in the exhibition include the reclamation of the city by nature and heterotopia, a concept developed by Michel Foucault to describe spaces which exist within ‘normal’ space but which are disturbing or contradictory. Lagoon comprises works which are both imagery drawn directly from the novel and those dealing with general constructs of space time. The image of a tower block almost entirely submerged in Molly Rose Butt’s painting ‘Pathway through the time jungles’ and Phil Goss’ ‘Burning Sun’ that shows the sun sinking into a black sea, reflect the apocalyptic changes challenging both human achievement and the natural world.
Lagoon has been brought together by Amanda Houchen and opens on the 14th of March at Fitzrovia Gallery, W1T 5EN.
Jo Mason:
Jo Mason lives and works in the UK. She has recently completed the Turps Art School on site course and has a BFA from Wimbledon School of Art (UAL). Exhibitions include the Beep Painting Biennial 2022, A Generous Space at Hastings Contemporary, and Overspill at Terrace Gallery.
Alix Philippe:
Alix Philippe is a Belgian painter who lives and works in London. She studied Comics at the Saint-Luc Institute in Brussels, and is currently doing the Turps Art School on site course. Exhibitions include: solo shows in London at C4RD, 2022, in Belgium at the Centre culturel de Bastogne 2022 and the Jos Joos Gallery in 2018. Group shows and art fairs include: Parcours Saint-Germain, Paris, AAF New York, ACAF Brussels.
Molly Rose Butt:
Molly Rose Butt is a British painter originally from Suffolk. She lives and works on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham. Molly has recently completed the Turps Art School on site course and has an MFA in Fine Art from Wimbledon College of Art. Exhibitions include Blink: Room Share 3 at Safehouse 1, What Remains at Cyprus College of Art, and A Room of One’s Own at The Koppel Project Central.
Amanda Houchen:
Amanda Houchen is a British painter who lives and works in London. She has recently completed the Turps Art School on site course in 2021, and has a Masters in Fine Art from City and Guilds School for Art. Amanda has exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer exhibition, The London Art Fair, as well as group exhibitions including Nest of Salt at AMP Gallery, Turps Leavers Show at Thames-Side Studios Gallery, The Ingram Collection Young Contemporary Talent Purchase Prize and Exceptional, Collyer Bristow.
Phil Goss:
Phil Goss is a British painter who lives and works in London. He studied English Literature BA, at Edinburgh University and went on to study Visual Communication MA, at the Royal College of Art.
Phil has had solo shows in London and Athens and has exhibited at the V&A museum, Evelyn Yard Gallery, Josh Lilley Gallery, Aldeburgh Look out Tower, Geddes Gallery and London Design Festival.
Nick Goss:
Nick Goss lives and works in London. Goss has been the subject of four solo exhibitions at Josh Lilley, along with multiple solo shows at Matthew Brown Los Angeles, and Contemporary Fine Arts, Berlin. Goss’ work is held in national collections including the Zabludowicz Collection and Pallant House. Institutions in the US include The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art and the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland.
Christof Mascher:
Christof Mascher lives and works in Braunschweig, Germany. Mascher has been the subject of four solo exhibitions at Josh Lilley, London, alongside solo institutional exhibitions at the Städtische Galerie Wolfsburg, Germany, California Lutheran University, USA, Kunsthalle Emden, Germany and others. In Germany, Christof Mascher is represented by Philipp von Rosen Galerie, Cologne, where he held two solo exhibitions.
Contacts:
@fitzrovia_gallery www.fitzroviagallery.co.uk
@houchen_amanda www.amandahouchen.com
@mollyrosebutt www.mostlytrouble.com
@alixphilippeartist www.alixphilippe.com
@philgoss1 www.philgoss.co.uk
@jomasonartist www.jomason.co.uk
@_nickgoss joshlilleygallery.com/artists/nick-goss
@christof.mascher joshlilleygallery.com/artists/christof-mascher
