The Seahorse Versus the Axe leverages its titular metaphor to examine the role of the destructive impulse within the psyche and artistic creation. Presenting a compelling battle between sensitivity and aggression, instinct and intellect, beauty and decay, seven artists tap into our base passions, deploying animal iconography, nocturnal narratives, or alchemical approaches to materials. Collectively, work in the exhibition recalls the psychoanalytic concept of the ‘death-drive’, with artists revealing a sense of violence against the self, nature, or the very medium of painting. From this thematic sparring emerges the triumph of art that strikes at the nervous system - virtue to be found within the visceral.
The Seahorse Versus the Axe: Darcy Brenna, Ellie Davies, Emmanuelle Norré, Harry Hugo Little, Jake Freeman, Meryl Yana, Ziqi Chen
Current exhibition