We Rise Again, The Gallery, Parndon Mill

 

The little gallery in Parndon Mill hosts rotating shows of works by local artists, including those who work in the various studios in the Mill. Having recently moved to Harlow from London I have had the pleasure of discovering a self-sustaining art community with lots on offer all year round. Parndon Mill is an arts venue on the banks of the river Stort on the outskirts of Harlow. Since the sixties it has been occupied by artists and craftsmen, including painters, sculptors, weavers, calligraphers, printmakers, designers, architects, guitar makers, ceramicists, glass blowers, jewellers, carpenters and a blacksmith. There has been a mill on that site for hundreds of years, it was even mentioned in the Domesday Book. The current building was completed in 1900 and continued as a mill until it was closed in 1960. It now hosts studios and workshops and provides a vital resource for artists and craftsmen in Harlow and the surrounding areas.

This new exhibition looks at the themes of recycling and conservation. The press release describes it as delivering a positive message of personal and environmental regeneration. An affirmation that we can restore ourselves and the seas, forests, wildlife and countryside if we try to preserve and reuse our resources. The main part of the show consists of sculptures by ten artists in various materials and these are complimented with a series of framed photographs by Steve Baldwin.

The first two pieces you see as you come in the door are a couple of bird sculptures made from stainless steel cutlery. Billie Achilleos’ Fledgeling depicts a bird in flight, and hangs suspended from fishing wire above Matthew Hurford’s Wading Bird which stands in a walking position on a plinth. You would be forgiven for assuming the two works were by the same artist as they are displayed together and are made in the same way. The precision and neatness of their construction is commendable, and they feature creative use of cutlery forms as bodily details.

Turning left there is a collection of small animals made from recycled books by Julia Gonzales. The animal forms have been stylized and simplified in ways that lend well to their medium. They have a tactile surface as the pages have been fanned outwards with the multitude of page ends making up the surface.

Next, we come to Stan Golding’s glass, wood and tile vases. Reminiscent of tower blocks and skyscrapers these vessels are a soothing mix of textures and colours. To the right of the vases, we have David Beanland’s wooden beings and hearts. All carved from singular pieces of found wood, these pieces seem as if the figure has been discovered in the wood as opposed to imposed on it. I imagine the artist being informed by the traits of the type of wood he is working with. The faces that loom out of the surface feel spiritual in a pagan, old-gods way and remind me of the Bamberg Greenman carving on an oak tree in Wootton Rivers. I prefer the figurative carvings to the wooden hearts as I feel they are more characterful and unique. The two modernist looking owls, Shadow and Moon, are sparingly detailed in meditative forms that invoke Brancusi and appeal to my taste more than their neighbour Star Gazer.

Perhaps I am biased when I say Scavenger by Liz Loveless is an exciting piece as she is my mother. However, I truly believe it is a successful sculpture, with the shards of glass from on old fashioned television creating dynamic shapes. It approaches the border of abstraction, but a few sparing details keep it recognisable as a bird. The rebar makes for convincing birdlike legs and along with the glass and the refuse, the materials abide by the message of recycling. The subject matter is also relevant, with crows being scavengers by nature, but also resourceful, finding all sorts of uses for objects they find.

 

Simon Langsdale’s the Earth Has Its Music provides a poetic mantra to underscore the lesson we are all having to relearn, and does so aptly carved into reclaimed Welsh slate. Looking over all of these salvaged forms are a series of slick framed photographs by Steve Baldwin, depicting scenes of natural beauty that act as a reminder of what we could lose if we don’t change our ways as a species. The Parndon Mill gallery has gathered a charming collection of works and has presented them in a tidy and respectful arrangement, and from what I could tell, the opening had a good turnout. The message is as important as ever and is approached with a sense of cautious optimism. I look forward to coming along to see what the gallery puts together next. 

We Rise Again is on at The Gallery, Parndon Mill 7 April – 12 May 2024