Exploring ideas of confinement, our relationship to environment and the changing emotions that these things have brought about during the current pandemic is the focus of our Winter Show. Each artist was offered the theme of ‘emergence’ to consider and respond to with new work. “This body of work is my direct response to the current pandemic. Large scale brightly coloured paintings no longer felt right and I changed to small, simple drawings in graphite pared down to simple emotion. They were initially a way to process what was happening for me personally but I have found that they resonate strongly with others. They are small, filling small spaces to reflect that feeling of confinement and waiting. The rectangular shape also references icons and the art of the Middle Ages, the time of the last great plague. “I wanted to capture a simple pose focusing purely on hands and faces because this is how we express our feelings. These works begin with a simple pencil drawing and more graphite is added and layers of beeswax, this adds depth and makes them more ‘alive’. I add a hint of a silver mask using real silver leaf, during the plague it was discovered that the wealthy ate from silver platters and managed to avoid becoming ill due to the anti microbial properties of the metal. I use real silver leaf with the graphite and beeswax, all elemental and natural materials. The subject in each image wears a prominent silver ring in the shape of the virus to act like a totem or protective talisman.”  Gill Walton