Wild Sanctum exhibition to be held at new Haeckels HQ in Cliftonville

Ivy at the promenade painting by Twinkle Troughton

Wild Sanctum is a solo show of new paintings by Thanet artist Twinkle Troughton featuring the ivy that grows profusely along and over the railings at the clifftops of Cliftonville.

Intrigued by the ivy’s peculiar organic sculptural forms, Twinkle’s small-scale oil paintings verge on being photographic in style. Twinkle says each scene seems almost fictitious when recreated with paint, highlighting the strangeness of creature-like growths which create a border between the sea and the promenade.

In her practice, Twinkle’s paintings often explore remnants of human interaction with nature, seeking to create a moment of pause, to bring into focus a detail from landscapes that might otherwise be overlooked. Ivy can often not only be overlooked, but also misunderstood as a parasite, or seen as untidy but it is a rich source of habitat and food for a variety of species of birds, insects and bats, playing a vital part in protecting and nurturing biodiversity.

Twinkle said: “In an age of concrete and manicured lawns, through these ivy paintings I seek to shift perceptions of an ungroomed landscape, to consider what magnificence lies within our natural and overgrown surroundings, and to utilse appreciation as a form of activism.”

Wild Sanctum is part of Margate NOW 2021’s Wider Programme. The 2021 edition of Margate NOW, ‘Sunken Ecologies’, is guest curated by Anna Colin and takes on the human-made natural environment and the possible role, participation and responsibility of cultural practitioners in caring for, engaging with, reclaiming or reimagining green spaces.

The Wild Sanctum exhibition will take place in Haeckels HQ, a new multi-purpose headquarters for natural care business Haeckles at the former Genting casino site at 1 Zion Place, Cliftonville. It runs from September 24-October 10.

Twinkle says that Haeckels, as an ambassador of sustainability, provides an ideal location for the paintings to be exhibited for the first time.

Opening times:

Late viewing – Friday 1st October 5-8pm (First Friday)

Sat 24 – Sun 25 Sept 11-6pm | Thurs 30 Sept – Sun 3 Oct 11-6pm | Thurs 7 – Sun 10 Oct 11-6pm

@twinkletroughton | @haeckles

www.twinkletroughton.co.uk | www.haeckles.co.uk

4 Comments

  1. Nice paintings, but as so often with these arty types, the blurb is pretentious nonsense (“utilse appreciation as a form of activism”?).

    • Sorry you feel like that. I felt this was the best way for me to explain that I think appreciation of something can be a great way to highlight how important something is. So therefore it becomes a form of activism in a more subtle way. Happy to discuss any ideas and thoughts!

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