Hallowed Ground

Welcome to "Hallowed Ground," an exhibition that brings together the diverse yet converging practices of artists Hedwig Barry, Fanie Buys, and John Phalane. This collection invites viewers to explore themes of grounding and groundlessness, the roles of tradition and modernity, and the interplay between personal and collective recall.

Hedwig Barry delves into the metaphors of "grounding" and "groundlessness" through a language of abstraction. Her work deeply engages with the historical weight of painting and its connections to nature, empire, modernity, and Western aesthetics. Barry's practice is a convergence of the personal and public, the emotional and intellectual, and the various elements—bodies, grounds, materials, desires, and gestures—that imbue these relationships with meaning.

Fanie Buys, a South African artist based in London, adopts a figurative style to examine the role of traditional portraiture in contemporary society. By utilizing found images, AI, and unconventional subject matter, Buys approaches painting as a performative meditation that reveals hidden, often tongue-in-cheek meanings. His works prompt a reconsideration of the act of painting and its place in the modern world.

John Phalane presents richly textured drawings that operate within multiple and shifting dimensions. His works depict urban and residential districts in flat, squared representations reminiscent of street maps, but are disrupted by blue horizons and distorted perspectives. Traffic lights and other familiar urban elements bend and transform, creating a sense of familiarity and nostalgia. Phalane's drawings engage with the processes of remembering and recounting, exploring how personal memories and images of places change when shared with others.

"Hallowed Ground" offers a space for reflection on the intersections of personal and collective experience, tradition and innovation, and the many ways in which we navigate and interpret the world around us.

A catalogue of works can be found here.

Lifeguard’s Last Lap, Gouache on 300gsm Bockingford, Fanie Buys