Lowry celebrates local and international talent with brand-new exhibition series

Lowry has announced details of the first instalment of a brand-new exhibition series, Local / National / International.

The collection will bring together three artists who share interests or work in similar mediums in a trio of concurrent solo exhibitions.

Local / National / International champions ambitious work being made in the North of England, as well as bringing exciting artists to Salford for the first time, revealing the similarities and overlaps in their practices.

For this iteration, Aliyah Hussain, Paloma Proudfoot, and Renee So all use ceramics as a vehicle for imaginative storytelling, constructing contemporary narratives through objects, tableaus and immersive environments.

Feminist ideas recur throughout, with the artists challenging gender norms and representation in engaging, seductive and sometimes humorous ways.

Aliyah Hussain, who works across ceramics, sound and collage, drawing on themes found in feminist science fiction and speculative storytelling, presents She was waiting for her roots.

For this work, the artist has taken inspiration from Anne Richter’s 1967 science fiction short story The Sleep of Plants, where the unnamed female protagonist wilfully transforms into a plant, seeking a life of solitude. Hussain will create an immersive environment exploring plant horror, transformation and feminist refusal.

Drawing on connections to the rural landscape of Todmorden and her interest in botany and plant folklore, creeping ceramic vines, fronds, roots and curious receptacles will ‘test and penetrate the boundaries of the gallery.’

Paloma Proudfoot’s Lay Figure draws on research into the history of medicine and the treatment of female patients, particularly at the Salpêtrière Hospital in 19th-century Paris, which became the epicentre for the study of hysteria.

Pioneering and controversial methods at the Salpêtrière included utilising artistic mediums such as plaster casting, photography and sound which were used to diagnose, demonstrate and treat symptoms.

Questioning the perceived reliability of these materials and the gendered power dynamics between the patients and doctors, Proudfoot will present an expansive ceramic and mixed media relief alongside wearable sculptures.

Two special performances will bookend the exhibition, made in collaboration with artist and choreographer Aniela Piasecka, and composer Ailie Ormston, who has utilised recordings from the ceramics to create an unsettling and eery score accompanying the performance.

Finally, Renee So: The Essence presents a series of oversized perfume bottles, drawing on the design cues that modern perfume bottles take from their predecessor, snuff bottles, which originated in Qing dynasty China and today can be found in the collections of many Western museums.

So’s work specifically references the Yves Saint Lauren perfume Opium, with the artist creating figures that reflect the controversial advertising campaigns, which have predominantly featured exoticised white female models.

Local / National / International is free to attend and runs at Lowry from Sat 23 Nov – Sun 16 Feb. For more information, click here.