The Unwrapped Exhibition will feature Gary Sheridan’s two most recent bodies of work from 2017 and 2018 entitled “Cluedo” and the aptly named “Unwrapped” series.

Cluedo

The Cluedo series of images explores the fragility and value of life. Not only how society values life but how we can value our own lives.

Inspired by William Blake’s poem The Fly, this piece flips the characters role in the board game Cluedo on its head, the living (the suspects in the murder of Mr Black in Cluedo) are the dead in this series, “My thoughtless hand has brushed away” William Blake.

The series juxtaposes the beauty of life and the seduction of aesthetics with death scenes, flipping the mind between one and the other in a blink of an eye, just as life can become death.

Little Fly,
Thy summer’s play
My thoughtless hand
Has brushed away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink, and sing,
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.

If thought is life
And strength and breath
And the want
Of thought is death;

Then am I
A happy fly,
If I live,
Or if I die.

William Blake

Unwrapped

In the Unwrapped series of images Gary uses similar technique and style to that in the Cluedo series, but even more vibrant, beautiful and provocative images with a vein of humour (awkward) to portray how in the perfect world, life should feel. He draws on fashion styled and cinematic scenarios/stills to ask the spectator to imagine what led to these imaginary moments in time. They tell a story of breakdowns and depression, which is often an awkward subject to discuss, but whilst it has been a subject rarely discussed there has been a steady increase in suicides worldwide over the past 45 years. Till we have got to the point where there are 50% more suicides than there were 45 years ago (reported by the World Health Organisation). We need to discuss what is happening to a world where 50% more people don’t want to live in it.

It was whilst studying photography at the University of Wolverhampton in the UK that Gary found his passion for conceptual photography. His work draws on personal experience and a natural inquisitiveness in human behaviour.

He constructs (often building sets in his studio) a series of work from a concept, such as in his recent work – Cluedo, or he will see images in everyday life that speaks volumes to him, such as the piece Arbitrate. Whichever method of construction he uses, he intends the images to be multi-layered and engage the viewer thoughtfully not just aesthetically. His work is vibrant, beautiful and seductive with a vein of humour that runs through its body, just as life should be, yet life is often not a bed of roses and Gary’s work reveals a troubled society.

We look forward to seeing you for the private view on 12 July between 7 PM and 9 PM.

The exhibition will run until 24 July.