Dreams of Togetherness

A wide-ranging visual dialogue developed by a diverse group of artists, meeting, working, and dreaming together.

Manor Street Galleries, 25th April – 7th May 2025

Exhibition Opening, 6-8pm Friday 25th April

Themed Open Mic, 7.30pm Friday 2nd May

'Dreams of Togetherness' conjures positive feelings of closeness and love, but also painful feelings of distance and a deep longing for something that has broken down or never was. What is clear though, is that we are wired to desire connection and harmony. This is expressed in these works, many of which have been made specifically for the exhibition, through the lens of mental health, (yearning for togetherness within oneself), sustainability (seeking harmony with our environment), politics (longing for and even mourning peace in global relationships), and more personal connections (celebrating, pursuing and desiring closeness within communities, families, and spouses).

‘Togetherness’, would seem from the work in this show, both the easiest thing and the hardest thing to achieve, and the tensions between longing, mourning, celebrating, and desiring it are apparent by the variety of emotions communicated by each work.

Jordan Eastwood’s art frequently looks at mental health, and the struggle with going to painful inner places to seek healing and reconciliation. Made using pastel, often in just two tones, the pieces evoke feelings of the sublime amongst a sometimes raging sea of torment and helplessness. What comes through though is a beauty and cathartic sense of release that lifts the spirit and allows one to see things from a distance in the clear light of day.

Baraka Ali’s paintings have a similarly autobiographical element, though the focus is more on world events and global tensions. Having experienced first hand the horrors of war, and now reflecting from more of a distance on global events past and present, Baraka’s work has a hard geometric edge where unpopulated buildings seem to stare out at the viewer through empty windows, long imposing corridors and cold walls. Despite this, the bright joyful colours and clean patterns, and occasional appearance of a figure or a light on in a window speaks of an escapist utopian dream of clarity and peace. However, there is a palpable tension between this desire for order and cohesion whilst being aware of the dangers and threat of ideology, dogma and authoritarianism.

PJEJ’s bold style is not so geometric but has a folk and almost cartoon feel that has a definite human touch. Through the no-fuss medium of acrylic on thick cardboard, the clear communication of PJ’s style has layers that holds our attention and goes deeper than the attention to surface would have one initially think. The figures are full of intrigue and their theatrical positioning and symbolic props create clear narratives whilst their gazes and the sensitivity of their depiction draws the viewer into their world, daring us to question our adopted ideas and imagine things from a different point of view. There is an unsettling power to them, but with a wide, wry grin, they wink at us and invite us in.

Kevin Tharme’s paintings evoke emotion through colour, form and a variety of mark making, and their abstract quality allow for a wide range of interpretation. Despite this, the recurring motif of landscape, and their wide-angle perspective and epic colouring call to mind more elemental forces and the state of our environment. Much of Kevin’s work reflects upon climate change and articulates despair at our frequent failure to live in harmony with people and planet. This said, the sense of the sublime in the paintings, and a feeling of a greater all-encompassing bigness, gives a humbling reminder of our minuteness in the grand scheme of the cosmos.

Gemma Quickenden, whose work is often political and charged with discord, for this exhibition felt challenged to switch off the news and paint the positive togetherness she wants to see in the world and in her life. Family became the subject of this venture, drawing on the imagery of fairy stories and religious depictions of the Holy Family. Far from being namby-pamby idealism, this is both a celebration of the joys of family life, and an affirmation of determination to step into the reality we want to see in the world, whilst being fully aware of the perseverance this requires. This inspiring and refreshing view is as much a challenge to us as any hard-hitting gritty work and is one that through beauty and joy genuinely lifts the spirit.

Hagar Basis similarly draws positive interpretations from ‘Dreams of Togetherness’, where sexual togetherness, mutual vulnerability, and tenderness between lovers is celebrated and enjoyed. The sensuality of the work, vibrant colours, and loose figuration have a dreamy quality, where the non-specificness of the people and places mean the sometimes overt eroticism is not insidious or voyeuristic. Though at first one might feel awkward or embarrassed viewing Hagar’s paintings, the comfortability of her archetypal characters feeling love and joy slowly allows us to feel similarly comfortable in our own bodies. Amongst so many negative and toxic stories of twisted intimacy, positive dreams of closeness between lovers is a welcome sight.

Ruth Helen Smith’s paintings focus on togetherness between self and world. Often painting en plein air expressive responses to being in the landscape, Ruth’s works are meditations about letting go of everything, and in so doing, becoming part of the whole. For this exhibition she challenged herself to work more from the imagination, memory, and art history, to create more figurative work which steps further towards more explicitly delving into these ideas. Landscapes and trees become figures entwined and dancing, where the interconnectedness of people, place and planet becomes full of playful possibility.

Whilst 'dreaming' might imply a 'not there yet' and something potentially out of reach, it also communicates a working towards, a desire for, and an affirmation of determination to get there, no matter how hard it might be. The works in this exhibition are the result of a visual dialogue developed by the artists in response to ‘Dreams of Togetherness’, and the wide range of interpretations reflect the diversity of the group. There is a certain poignancy to this in relation to the title, where a wholesome, expanding and rich conversation has emerged from artists of different backgrounds and life experiences meeting, working and Dreaming Together.

~ Ruth Helen Smith, 19th March 2025

Baraka Ali is a painter in North Tawton who creates work as a way of responding to current world events. A Somali-Yemeni artist, she has seen first-hand the terror of war and its lasting trauma, and her paintings hold a powerful sense of protest against what humans do to the world and each other. Unflinchingly raw, her work is full of blocks of solid colour, definite edges, and strong compositions. A self-taught artist, Baraka says ‘I just paint what I feel’.

@barkobenarris

Gemma Quickenden studied classical painting at the Florence Academy of Art and has since put this rigorous training to use exploring both political events and inter-personal relationships. Stories are a deep inspiration to Gemma, and she frequently draws from folktales, dreams, and observed human interactions to create her paintings and etchings.

www.gemmaquickenden.com - @gemmaquickenden

Jordan Eastwood’s practice is inspired by mental health issues, having personally struggled with them his entire adult life. He creates drawings, sculptures and installations which balance realism with profound expression. Dramatic lighting characterise Jordan’s pastel works, while his installations go beyond the visual experience, incorporating sounds, scents and a sense of space to envelop viewers into an idea, moment or feeling, offering new perspectives on human emotions and experiences.

www.jordaneastwood.co.uk - @jordan.eastwoods.art

Kevin Tharme is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and is currently studying at Newlyn School of Art. Using vibrant colours and layered textures, his paintings explore the resilience of the human spirit, the fragility of our environment, and the connections that unite us. This exploration carries a political edge, highlighting how power imbalances and ignorance can harm both humanity and the natural world. The work inspires dialogue that acknowledges our shared challenges and seeks pathways toward understanding and positive change.

www.kevintharme.art - @kevintharme_art

Hagar Basis studied at the Sir John Cass School of Art in Whitechapel, and works intuitively where paintings emerge through the creative process as a form of personal expression. Hagar’s work is loosely figurative and often set within a primordial landscape, resulting in an emerging 'dreamscape' connecting to both her inner and outer experiences.

@hagarbasis_art

PJEJ’s art is a personal response to identity, creation, technology and world events. Working in paint on thick cardboard, wooden panel, and sometimes three-dimensional objects such as repurposed industrial waste, the gutsy imagery punches above it’s weight whilst maintaining an intriguing subtlety that pulls the viewer in.

@pjejart

Ruth Helen Smith studied her BA and MA at The Courtauld Institute of Art, before training in figurative painting at The Heatherley School of Fine Art. Her paintings are often painted en plein air and centre around the miracle of existence. Through her thick use of paint and loose figuration Ruth’s paintings are imbued with a sense of mystery and wonder at the vastness we cannot comprehend.

www.ruthhelensmith.co.uk - @ ruth.helen.smith

Change. (Not just for the sake of it). Adapt. Refine. Evolve without fear — and shine.

Change.
(Not just for the sake of it).
Adapt.
Refine.
Evolve without fear —
and shine.