Darkling
Lindsey Bull
Curated by Laura Mansfield
Peer critique led by Laura Mansfield :
Thursday 18th October, 6pm
Preview:
Thursday 18th October, 7pm – late
Exhibition Continues:
Friday 19th – Sunday 28th October
Thurs – Sun, 12-6pm daily
Darkling, defined in simple terms as ‘in the dark obscurely’ or ‘enacted in the dark’ alludes to a state of uncertainty where the outlines of a figure, movement or action become submerged into the darkness that surrounds them, resulting in inconclusive and fragmentary images that rest between the seen and the hidden.
As the title for an exhibition of new work by Lindsey Bull, the phrase reflects the shifting nebulous quality of paint that surrounds the lone figures of her canvases. The figures, often masked, hooded or concealed in some form, enact undefined movements; fragments of performative action that slip into the abstract and undulating rhythm of her surrounding brush strokes. The exact qualities of the figure and their movements merge with Bull’s loose and layered use of paint, being both defined and obscured, embodying the notion of Darkling.
Throughout her practice Bull explores perceptions of reality and illusion, investigating fragmentary instances where the real mergers with the fantastical, exploring a history of practices that shift the everyday into realms of spiritual, ritualistic or psychedelic perception. Drawing upon a lexicon of imagery from books on witchcraft and cults, to silent film stills and occult magazines her paintings often depict figures enveloped by spaces that feel simultaneously familiar and unreal; the known world slips away as the space surrounding the figure slides into an abstract and undulating form that serves to reference the figures alternated state of perception.
The series of paintings for Darkling continue Bull's investigation into occult practices, myth and magic. The notion of darkling permeates the work, a push and pull effect of becoming and disappearing as the figures slide in and out of definition, inhabiting a liminal state of both the seen and the hidden.
Lindsey Bull was awarded this solo show at the M/FP National Open, 2011.
Lindsey Bull (b.1979) completed her MA in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, in 2009. Recent exhibitions include ‘Out of the Cosmic Storm’, a solo exhibition at Transition gallery, (London), 'Triptych', Piccadilly Place (Manchester), 'Apophenia', China shop gallery (Oxford), 'Painting Rituals', Coldharbour gallery (London), 'Heavens to Murgatroyd!', Arts Gallery, University of the Arts (London) and 'I Am Solitary I Am Army’, Beers.Lambert Contemporary, Surface Gallery, (Nottingham). She was awarded the Brenda Landon Pye Prize (2009), The Red Mansion Prize (2010) and was a prize winner at the MotorCade/Flashparade National Open (2011). She lives and works in Manchester, UK.
http://www.lindseybull.com
Laura Mansfield is a curator and writer based in the north west of the UK. She studied History of Art at Bristol University before undertaking an MA in Cultural and Critical Studies at Birkbeck College University of London. She is currently a phd candidate at Manchester Institute of Research Art and Design (MIRIAD).
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