Trinity Buoy Wharf Drawing Exhibition at Falmouth Art Gallery May 2025

 I saw this in Falmouth, Cornwall, Uk in May 2025, but it has toured around the country and is an annual opportunity to submit work defined in any way as drawing.

Such variety - quite a lot of intricate pattern done for its own fascination.

There’s a catalogue to consult whilst there to find out more about each artist or you can buy one.

There is drawing on paper cups by Akash Byatt, a work made out of pencils arranged, Esteban Peña Parma, and the first prize winning wall of pottery vessel forms made out of steel wire by Max L Adam’s, each casting a shadow so ingenuity and unusual materials have been selected.

 

 

Then there are complex large works with social and political meanings like Simon Page’s ‘The End of Babel’ in  ink, and a big drawing evoking the huge space of ‘Kings’ Cross station’ in charcoal by Jeanette Barnes.

Marvellous portraits are there too - Jake Spicer’s ‘Esme’ in charcoal pencil and Roy Eastland’s silver point on gesso ‘Displaced Portrait’ from a series he made from found photos.

There is work to make you think, laugh, cry and feel moved to take up a drawing medium yourself.
Anyone can enter but most I look up have a long list of qualifications and exhibitions to show.

As I am leaving I find about 12 babies in nappies each with probably their mother, on a large mat, being introduced to the messy pleasures of paint. I’m so glad adult workshops aren’t held in public in our underwear, although it might give performance artists ideas. Most of the babies look completely bewildered.
However that’s not to say it’s not a pleasurable beginning to the possibilities of art.

And the drawing show in all its variety must stimulate a wide audience.

Artists' Book Fair at Exchange Penzance May 2025

 Jackie Chettur organised this artists’ book fair at Penzance’s Exchange gallery when they were between art shows. It was free to attend and the cafe was open for in my case a lukewarm hot chocolate that I was too impatient to have remade.

There were about 8 tables people had paid rent for and then two long tables with a selection sold with a small commission.

All sorts, from heavy volumes of images  and poetry to thin pamphlets made at home with a copier.

On the Friday evening there were various short talks. The first was virtually inaudible although I asked for them to speak louder, but things then improved.
Tina Kutter read moving details of how the situation of women in Afghanistan has deteriorated drastically since the Taliban took power.  She had these written on a scroll which was part of a group project, not for sale but presented in big red boxes to University librairies.

After a break Chloe confidently and amusingly performed a piece about the problems  using a copying machine.

Others spoke interestingly of their own groups or individual books. If there had been a printed list this would have helped audience members know names and titles and be able to google later.

There was a pleasant atmosphere of approachability so one could chat to artists and make contacts as well as handling the books.

Maybe more publicity could help but I hear attendance was particularly good on the Saturday.

It was good to display my own three books and sell one - actually ‘Carbon footprint and the last taboo’ which I had offered as a project to do at the Exchange originally but was not selected so I was pleased to get the resulting  books through the door and to sell one.

I also had two other books - ‘Drawn Here’ which Cornwall library has in stock, and ‘Women without’ about women suffering infertility, which was part of my MA work at Falmouth 2006.

Artists’ books are a specialist niche thing, well worth exploration.