EVENT Details
Wild Sanctum: Twinkle Troughton
Wild Sanctum is a solo show of new paintings by Twinkle Troughton featuring the ivy that grows profusely along and over the railings along the clifftops of Cliftonville. Intrigued by the ivy’s peculiar organic sculptural forms, Twinkle’s small-scale oil paintings verge on being photographic in style. Yet each scene seems almost fictitious when recreated with paint, highlighting the strangeness of these creature-like growths which create a border between the sea and the promenade.
In her practice, Twinkle’s paintings often explore remnants of human interaction with nature, seeking to create a moment of pause, to bring into focus a detail from our landscapes that might otherwise be overlooked. And so, while these enigmatic ivy mounds are a sight to behold, ivy can often not only be overlooked, but also misunderstood as a parasite, or seen as untidy. Yet it is a rich source of habitat and food for a variety of species of birds, insects and bats, playing a vital part in protecting and nurturing biodiversity.
In an age of concrete and manicured lawns, through these ivy paintings Twinkle seeks to shift perceptions of an ungroomed landscape, to consider what magnificence lies within our natural and overgrown surroundings, and to utilise appreciation as a form of activism.
Wild Sanctum is part of Margate NOW 2021’s Wider Programme. The 2021 edition of Margate NOW, ‘Sunken Ecologies’, is guest curated by Anna Colin and takes on the human-made natural environment and the possible role, participation and responsibility of cultural practitioners in caring for, engaging with, reclaiming or reimagining green spaces.
The exhibition will take place in Haeckles HQ, a new multi-purpose headquarters for Haeckles who, as an ambassador of sustainability, provides an ideal location for the paintings to be exhibited for the first time.
IG @twinkletroughton | @haeckles
W www.twinkletroughton.co.uk | www.haeckles.co.uk
