'Stranger Skies' an exhibition by Pippa El-Kadhi Brown.
An encounter with Pippa El-Kadhi Brown's latest paintings at The Holden Gallery, Manchester School of Art.
I spent this afternoon at the Holden Gallery in Manchester to invigilate Pippa El-Kadhi Brown’s latest exhibition ‘Stranger Skies.’ The exhibition includes El-Kadhi Brown’s new work completed during her 1-year Freelands Studio Fellowship at Manchester School of Art.
‘Stranger Skies’ is a beautiful, thought-provoking, and other-worldly exhibition. Every painting is a portal to another universe. Since the opening night last Thursday, I have wanted to spend some time quietly observing and reflecting on these paintings. Private views, although enjoyable social celebrations, never lend themselves to really looking at and reflecting on the work. If you are a sensitive soul (as many artists are) it can be difficult to connect with artwork amongst so many people, opinions and conversations.
I wanted to spend some time alone stepping into the ethereal and other-worldly planes Pippa had created this year; to experience what it feels like to be part of these worlds.
To really look at and experience a work of art, you need to connect and empathise with it. To connect with a work of art, you need to allow yourself to get really quiet. Only then can you hear the artist’s melody above the hum of taught critiques and theories. Only then can you see the work as you really see it.
To do the exhibition justice, I had to spend some time ‘in’ each painting. Standing, looking, and feeling what it was like to exist in each universe.
I think the most interesting (and most human) account of art is the direct, felt, phenomenological experience. Rather than writing an essay on art criticism, I have recorded my phenomenological encounters with five paintings from El-Kadhi Brown’s exhibition.
What is beautiful about paintings is that we all see and experience them differently. And yet, there are connections and similarities to be shared. I hope that by reading my stream-of-consciousness in response to the work, something will spark in you. Most of all, I hope my writing encourages you to go and spend time, quietly, alone, stepping into these incredible works for yourself.
Art and philosophy become suffocated by the dogmatism of right and wrong. I prefer to return to myself, and to the human (all too human) experience as it is lived.
Acatenango, 2024, oil on canvas, 147.5x147.5cm
Mid-blue sky backgrounds fluid, shifting ephemera. Clouds and meteors sweep through an undefined space where crimson flowers and berries rise to meet the sky. Pale pink frames the world and seeps into the fabric of the air. The sun rises (or sets), casting no shadow on this formless, moving sky. I feel the impermanence of an other-worldly scene, where I don’t know if I’m rising, flying through the air, or falling gently into soft clouds. Brushstrokes guide my eyes across this extra-terrestrial plane.
Monkberry Moon Delight, 2024, oil on canvas, 175 x 190cm
Pale hues draw me in to witness distant faces and ethereal limbs dancing on a spinning vortex. The moon rises above a peach horizon that forms no line. Figure and ground mix together in a singing dance of blue, pink, orange, yellow and green. Wild berries drop from the air and hang in stasis as the world around them shifts and turns.
Flux, 2024, oil on canvas, 200 x 160cm
Night falls over a distant universe, where palm trees rise to touch the indigo-blue sky. Beams of green light descend to illuminate spirits and entities of the night. Alien beings shimmer and dissipate in the shadows, while constellations linger in the opaque sky. Vibrant green sings of other-worldly light casting diamond shadows on the picture plane.
Where the Wings Wander, 2024, oil on canvas, 237.5 x 173cm
Pink bubbles and foams across a whirling pool of blues. Yellow and orange light refracts on cascading water, where hands and clouds stretch out to reach across the plane. I step into a river of warmth, healing, and connection. This is a place where the spirit can rest.
Flesh of the Forest, 2024, oil on canvas, 117 x 97cm
Tentacles, flowers, plants and berries envelop the viewer in an entanglement of pinks and greens. This world is reminiscent of an ocean floor, or a tropical jungle on the far side of the universe. A concoction of dream-like foliage blends with pink flesh tones, making you wonder if you are looking at organic matter from the inside or stepping out into an alien landscape.
Don’t miss Pippa El-Kadhi Brown’s exhibition ‘Stranger Skies’, which will continue at The Holden Gallery until Thursday 27th February 2025. ‘Stranger Skies’ was curated by Jenny Eden, and supported by Freelands Foundation, London, and Manchester School of Art.