Smiley fish and cheerful things

At a point in time where local, national and international news seems to have hit ‘Peak Gloom’, artist Dawn Timmins has had the vision to curate a show to lift our spirits. Erica Smith pops down to Hastings Arts Forum and leaves with a smile on her face.

Dawn Timmins has been a stalwart of Hastings’ art scene for many years now. She has wanted to curate an exhibition at Hastings Arts Forum for some time and had a definite vision for the artists she wanted to include. She said, “I feel extremely proud and humbled that this wonderful group of exceptionally talented artists agreed to exhibit with me – I hope you enjoy the show!”

Like Dawn, three of the exhibiting artists have an illustrative style. Ed Boxall is a children’s book illustrator as well as an artist. New member Darren Baxter’s artwork is large scale with a comic-book style of strong outlines and flat, bright colour. And Judith Douglas is a ceramicist who describes herself as ‘a contemporaray folk artist’. Her creations have a beautifully decorative quality about them – they are like characters from a children’s animation re-created in 3-D.

Meanwhile, Agnes Chevalier and Katherine Reekie produce representational artworks and share a painterly and surreal aspect to their work. Agnes’s practice is particularly unusual. At first glance it is easy to assume she works in oil paint, but in fact she paints on silk and then uses her sewing machine to create the texture and additional colour – “It’s just like drawing with a needle and painting with thread”, she says.

This exhibition also includes two large-scale sculptural pieces by Chevalier. Both are figurative and dream-like, and it’s exciting to see her work escape from a formal frame. Her sculptures are inspired by the Italian Renaissance, the English Pre-Raphaelites and Surrealism.

Chevalier is not the only artist to explore 3-D – Timmins has also included two large 3-D pieces which complement the work of both Douglas and Reekie. There is a human-sized ‘Mari Llwyd’-style costume, and a smiling beast-like sculpture made from driftwood and stones from the beach.

Katherine Reekie’s new work returns to one of her favourite themes – the folklore of Jack in the Green. She is also exhibiting a new series of paintings of Morris Dancers. Both Katherine and myself are members of Rheda’s Dream Morris side and Katherine has been charmed by the delicate pastel colours of our side’s tatter coats. The paintings have a feel of De Chirico – the dancers and architecture are frozen in time, giving a magical atmosphere. There is also a browser of Reekie’s previous work around the themes of Jack in the Green and Hastings Bonfire. I enjoyed looking through the older work and comparing it with her new, delicate oil paintings.

Ed Boxall is a celebrated local artist, illustrator, writer, storyteller and musician. His prints in the exhibition include some from We the Wild Seas – his latest collection of stories, some older prints from his book We Talk about our Childhoods and a new print inspired by the Indian folk tale The Elephant and The Dog.

Event: Open Evening
There is a public opening event this Friday (30 May 2025), from 6 to 8pm. All are welcome.

Event: Flying Submarines and Dragon Boats: Stories, Songs & Poems
On Sunday 1 June, Ed will be storytelling at Hastings Arts Forum from 2–4pm. All ages are welcome to attend.

Event: Meet the Artists
On Sunday 8 June, the exhibition artists will be in the gallery from 2–4pm. There will be light refreshments and interesting conversations.

The exhibitions runs to Sunday 8 June at Hastings Arts Forum, 20 Marine Court, Saint Leonards-on-sea TN38 0DX.
The gallery is open 11am–5pm Wednesdays to Sundays).

 

Also in: Arts News

Lights all awry in the sky »