News / Wildlife
Art exhibition showcases Bristol city’s wild side
“In my cherished patch of soil, I find joy in focusing on the tiny details of the natural world, which appear and disappear within a few seconds or over the course of a year,” says Coo Geller, an artist inspired by the everyday, overlooked qualities of nature.
Coo is one of the artists taking part in the first Urban Nature Collective exhibition, launching on March 7.
Printmakers, photographers, painters, digital artists and illustrators will present work featuring the wildlife on Bristol’s doorstep and cityscapes seen through the lens of the natural world.
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Wildlife enthusiast and educator George Cook’s photographs will be on display – photo: George Cook
Artist and exhibition organiser Sally Imbert had a lightbulb moment after the BS3 Wildlife group introduced her to the urban nature reserve initiative.
“It’s turning the concept of a nature reserve on its head. Rather than travelling out of the city to enjoy it, we work on bringing nature to the city itself,” she explains. “Committing to nature corridors, greening up car parks, bat boxes, hedgehog homes, reducing light pollution… The possibilities are endless!”
Sally was so excited by the idea that she felt compelled to put together a show related to urban nature, on display at the Tobacco Factory from March 7-29.
“I felt inspired to see where these urban advocates and enthusiasts for nature meet art and creativity. It will be an exciting experiment in cross-pollination,” she says.
“I hope this will be the first of many ventures involving both the general public, nature lovers and professional artists alike!”
Sally did live drawing of protesters and their banners at the recent Bristol Allotmenteers Resist campaign meetings – credit: Sally Dove
For Sally, painting is a meditation in looking deeply. She says she gets a buzz from being outside. Painting a darkening twilight or evaporating mist sharpens her senses and ‘plugs her into life’. She takes “a kind of start at your feet approach to art and life”, often getting lost in the tiny detail of a flower on the pavement edge, or the moon above the city skyline.
Sally was involved in Bristol Allotmenteers Resist, the campaign fighting Bristol City Council’s proposed changes to allotment rules labelled ‘draconian,’ and produced live drawings of the “humorous and inventive” banners on display at campaign meetings.
Printmaker Rosanna Morris, also exhibiting, designed the allotment campaign’s protest billboard in St Werburghs. Rosanna uses traditional techniques to make images that ‘speak to the human connection to the land.’
The campaign billboard was designed by Rosanna Morris and installed in St Werburghs at the corner of St James Street and Mina Road – photo: Ursula Billington
Other artists include photographers Sophie Sherwood, who creates delicate phytogram prints from locally foraged plants, and George Cook, sharing his enthusiasm for wildlife as, he says, “People are more likely to engage with the nature on their doorstep. Urban nature has a great potential to initially inspire that love and connection to nature.”
Stuart Low’s paintings of plants and insects observed in the corners of his small city garden will be on display, alongside Suzanne Elson’s detailed graphite portraits of the ancient and veteran trees of Leigh Woods and Ashton Court estate.
Sophie Sherwood’s phytograms feature locally-sourced plants such as the dead nettle in this piece ‘Spring in Bristol’ – photo: Sophie Sherwood
Viewers will also find Melanie Wickham’s monochrome lino prints inspired by nature’s relationships with city dwellers. “Nature is all around in urban areas, some obvious like gulls and pigeons, and others hidden in nooks and crannies, quietly getting on with humans in close proximity,” she says. “Nature finds a space wherever it can.”
The exhibition’s launch event takes place from 7-9pm on March 7. Artists will be selling prints and cards, and representatives from local nature groups including BS3 Wildlife will be there to chat about local wildlife, events and projects.
Main image: Coo Geller
This piece of independent journalism is supported by the Bristol24/7 public and business membership.
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