I attended a stunning exhibition last night.
Disquiet Beauty ‘brings together the work of four artists who all explore notions of beauty and alienation, attraction and repulsion and the otherworldly in their use of materials and form‘.

Tessa Farmer’s fairy sculptures were amazing to see … and you could not help but smile at the antics of these superbly created beings. They are a real highlight of the exhibition.

The particular highlight for me, though, was Persephone, sculptured by good friend Zara Carpenter. The gathering went to see Persephone when she was being exhibited in Whitstable. I’d forgotten how amazing this sculpture is. It is easy to stand for hours and discover something new minute by minute.

There is something very alluring in this exhibition that pulls on a possible relationship between beauty and mortality … the desire to leave an impression and not be forgotten. I both inwardly smiled and was mildly disturbed in some measure by the paradox of beauty and death adjacent to each other.

So …. if you are in Rochester pop into the visitors centre to see this beautiful exhibition …. actually go out of your way to see it !

Thank you Zara ….. your time and amazing effort and curating this collection have given us all a little bit of joy!