In the new exhibition, ‘On the Wings of a Wire bird’, artist Sophie Gresswell invites you explore mixed heritage and our intersecting journeys. This show follows work in the artist’s home county of Bedfordshire and a residency to her grandfather’s birthplace on the Island of St Helena.
“LOYAL ROOTS, BURN EM UP, UNSHAKABLE US”
This phrase adorns the three main paintings in this show. Three ‘Saint’ women
(St Helenians) from an island you may never have heard of, demand their space in the gallery. Demand their place in our history.
The words are taken from the motto for St Helena island (a British overseas territory in the south Atlantic) ‘Loyal and Unshakable’ – like the whole exhibition the phrase has been taken and re arranged to better reflect our mixed heritage, the roots in empire, the destruction, the survival, the connection and the undeniable impact commonwealth heritage has had, and continues to have, on what it means to be British.
This exhibition is a celebration of this heritage and our mix and is most importantly a space to come together to question and reconnect with our entangled heritage. Enter the exhibition through our collaborative curtain of clay heritage heads. Follow large scale poetry embodying the thoughts of local commonwealth communities from workshops during 2023, where groups confronted the Higgins, Bedford ethological collection. Encounter large scale paintings of Saints with dignity and sass, ‘British’ objects separated from, and searching for context, voices and echoes. The show is the culmination of the beginning of a journey, it is a space to sit with all that has come before and where we are going. Please join us to share experiences, cultures, stories and humanity in a world where so often, we drift apart.
Hold My Tongue, The Higgins Poetry Evening
18 April 5:30-7:30pm Free Book Here
An evening of sharing, art and poetry. Join artist Sophie Gresswell and poets Taher Adel, Mp and Imrana Mahmood in exploring identity, heritage, language and connection. There will also be a limited number of open mic spaces available for the audience to contribute to the evening.
Please use promotional code HIGGINS30 to avoid paying a transaction fee when booking a place.