For her solo exhibition Force Field, multi-disciplinary artist Isobel Church has immersed herself in the notion of electrical activity in the natural world. Exploring both the literal and metaphorical spark of life, there is a reciprocal dialogue between all the works and materials in the exhibition.
Central to the exhibition is a steel mesh installation of ambiguous waterlily-esque forms, suspended in mid air and drawn together as if in communion. Another installation in the space features storm strewn branches which have found new life as pewter ornated bolts, charged with a metallic potency.
A series of large scale silverwork textiles intricately depict plant root systems as chronicled by John Ernst Weaver in 1919, almost interchangeable with the forms of lightning bolts. With its expectant conductivity, metal in several forms finds its natural place in this exhibition: silver, graphite, pewter, aluminium, steel, meteorite.
Together, the works become something larger and more pulsating, a multifarious exploration of a dynamic, often imperceptible world that surrounds us.
