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Beyond the Asylum
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Press Release
Beyond the Asylum
25 March - 4 May, Faith House, Holton Lee, Dorset
An exhibition of paintings and drawings by Rachel Gadsden
(Winner of the Dada Award 2005 visual artist category)
‘Rachel’s work is a unique and forceful evocation of the human situation. She portrays the fragility of human experience as echoed in the representation of the decaying building through sensitive engagement with its present state, history and inhabitants. Her paintings and drawings make you think, and, most of all, feel.
12 Noon - Rachel will be giving a talk about her artwork and the Asylum projects
Rachel Gadsden has been investigating deserted Asylum Hospitals exploring the dereliction to develop a metaphorical voice using as a starting point the term ‘inside and outside’ – in the context of an asylum this phrase is not merely related to confinement but something which is universally felt. This exhibition will show a collection of drawings and paintings that narrate the story of the North Wales Asylum in Denbigh and the Cane Hill Asylum in Surrey. The exquisite jewel like quality of the paintings and drawings with their delicate embroidery, found objects and fragile lines portray both the hope and tragedy of the Asylum World. This is a World that theoretically no longer exists and this powerful exhibition of work reminds us that every individual has a right to find a “safe” place within our society.
Rachel was a student at Wentworth Milton Mount School in Boscombe, Dorset. In 1998 Rachel gained a BA in Fine Art from Wimbledon School of Art and received an AHRB Award to study for an MA in Fine Art at City and Guilds of London Art School in 2000. Since Graduating Rachel has worked on a number of projects including a commission for Children of the Andes Charity, a residency at Huntercombe Young Offenders Institute, a residency at Penallta Colliery in South Wales and an Arts Council funded project about Cane Hill Asylum Hospital (2005). In Dec 2004 Rachel received an Artsadmin Digital Media Bursary for the North Wales Hospital project. In September 2005 Rachel won the People’s Choice Prize at the International Shrewsbury Museum Competition for one of the Asylum paintings and in December was awarded the Dada Award 2005 (visual Artist category) for her Asylum Projects. (www.rachelgadsden.com)
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