Dreamland Exhibition Review: Redefining Beauty
Words by Ella Gauci
Photography by Myles Woodruff
Walking in with the beat of pyjama-clad band Slop ‘Em Up accompanying the night, the Norman Rea Gallery was transformed into a whimsical, magical exploration of beauty and imagination. Exploring ideas of beauty, truth, and imagination through the medium of art, the multimedia exhibition was packed! Small clouds fell from the sky and flowers wrapped around the room, creating the sense that we had entered somewhere like Neverland or another childhood dream.
Inspired by her English Literature background, Emily Quli was interested in displaying questions of beauty - explored in poets such as Keats - visually through art. The contrasting forms of art, from sculpture to oil paintings, truly captured the curators’ aims to investigate this question within the realm of modern art as well as a more classical approach.
The interactivity of this exhibition was incredibly exciting, and the piece that stood out to me was Sophie Norton and Beth Jones’ piece ‘Complex’. Mixing collage with the canvas of a mirror, the piece redefined both the medium and the ideas of the frame. The amalgamation of bodies, feet, and even cake on the mirror felt like stepping into a fantastical dream. With the probing line from one of Sophie’s own poems - ‘I lost god in a multi-storey complex’ - centering the frame, the mirror was used throughout the night not just as a piece of art but also the backdrop for countless mirror selfies.
Another striking piece from the exhibition was Matilda Herd’s ‘why be me when you can you?’. Interested in exploring ideas of distortion and beauty, her use of textiles as a medium opened the exhibition to wider discussions of beauty. With bright colours and embellishments, the clothing worked to break the mould of what we consider as art that explores beauty. Contrasted with the oil paintings alongside it, the exhibition constantly reminded its viewers to withhold their own preconceptions about art, beauty, and imagination.
One of my favourite pieces from the night was Jane Price’s haunting sculpture piece entitled The Ghost Performers. Inspired by the recent lockdown, her sculpture piece reflects on the ghostly nature of the empty streets of the West End and how she longs to see the return of performance. The overall effect is breathtaking. With a light casting a yellowish glow onto the piece, it seems to stand for the solidarity of the arts despite the hardship of the past year.
Centre stage for this exhibition was the band Slop ‘Em Up with a set list of soothing songs to accompany the art. With exhibition goers huddled together to watch, the intimate performance added a calming ambiance and dreamlike atmosphere to the gallery.
The exhibition provoked a number of questions about not only what we view beauty as but how we expect to see it displayed in art. The combination of media was perhaps my favourite part of the exhibition as it drew out universal themes across such a broad spectrum. Capturing the ‘ethereal’ essence that Emily Quli wanted to achieve, the night was a complete success as free wine flowed, music played, and beauty was seen (in all its various forms) across the gallery.
