ART GALLERY 2023 –

AIR POLLUTION: WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

Each artist has a keen interest in the environment and the problems that arise from air pollution.

This year’s artists include Rosie Stronach, Sarah Strachan, Cameron Lings and Ruth Fitzharris

Current Artist : Rhiannon Robinson

April

Rhiannon Robinson

“There is so much pollution in the air now that if it were not for our lungs there would be no place to put it all”

‘My work as a textile artist explores the fusion of typography and textiles, digital technology and the analogue. Language is always the inspiration; typographic layouts are developed and transferred to fabric through a combination of cyanotype printing and rust dyeing. This text is then embellished with embroidery to amplify meaning.

Based in the stunning county of Northumberland, landscape, geology, literature and issues in science are often sources of inspiration for my work, alongside all things typographic.’ 

Cyanotype and rust printing on cotton ticking, hand embroidery

2023 EXHIBITION PROGRAMME

AIR POLLUTION: WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

All artists submitted work under the brief ‘Air Pollution: What Does it Look Like?’

We are delighted to share with you our programme for the year. 

JANUARY – ROSIE STRONACH –

www.rosiestronach.co.uk

FEBRUARY – MARINA VITAGLIONE –

www.marinavitaglione.com

MARCH – SARAH STRACHAN –

www.sarah-strachan.co.uk

APRIL – RHIANNON ROBINSON –

www.typefabric.co.uk

MAY – AMY BONSOR –

www.amybonsor.com

JUNE – HAYLEY STEVENSON –

www.tebbsgallery.com

JULY – SMOGWARE x RUTH IMPEY –

www.ruthimpey.com

AUGUST – CAMERON LINGS –

@cameron_lings_

SEPTEMBER – KATHRYN MAGUIRE –

www.kathrynmaguire.net

OCTOBER – MAJA QUILLE –

www.majaquille.com

NOVEMBER – RUTH FITZHARRIS –

www.mumsforlungs.org

DECEMBER – CLARE NATTRESS –

www.clarenattress.co.uk

Air Pollution: What Does it Look Like? – Previous Artists

January

Rosie Stronach

 

‘Thick Air’

Air pollution is considered ‘the largest environment risk to the public in the UK’ – gov.uk, Feb 2022.

This artwork has been drawn using a pen by Air Ink which isolates air pollutants PM10 and PM2.5 and recycles this waste into usable art materials.

The drawing itself maps the presence of Particulate Matter (PM) 10 and 2.5 in the UK. The artwork is made up of two individual drawings, to map each type of pollution separately.

Rosie’s goal was to make the invisible viable, highlighting the severity of the problem in an informative and aesthetically appealing way.

 

February

Marina Vitaglione

 

‘AIR’ (2020-2021) aims to visualise the the invisible killer: air pollution. Fine particle pollution is the biggest environmental risk of early death worldwide, taking 7 million lives a year.

Marina Vitaglione’s practice is research lead, gathering samples and monitoring levels of carbon, nitrogen and ozone sulphur dioxide on different dates across sites in inner and outer London.

These samples were then photographed through a microscope or digitally enlarged before being used for cyanotype printing

The results are abstract, but help give form to such an ambiguous subject

 

March

Sarah Strachan

‘The Air We Breathe’

Air is invisible, unknowable and undeniable, but how do we visualise this medium that connects us all? A phenomenon we are even more aware of since the impact of Covid-19.

Air quality is so intangible, often expressed through the air quality index (AQI) but what does this actually mean? How do we experience air quality? And what does our experience mean in terms of our perception now and in the future? These were all questions that prompted me to start the collaborative project – The air we breathe – with families all around the world.

The contents of the boxes record a generation’s diverse personal experiences of air quality in their local environment. The museum-like cabinet of curiosities makes reference to science’s endeavours to measure and categorise.