22nd February- 6th March, 2021
LISA ELLEN HUGHES
Utopian Expansion
Utopian Expansion uses symbolic imagery to identify the movement of supra- and sub-aqua activity, juxtaposed with the urbanisation of the land. It is illustrated through a map of the surrounding land, the flurry of activity on the water’s surface, and presence of aquatic life in the depths below. The diversity of ecology, alongside human activity, conveys the coexistence of marine life and an anthropogenic desire to be part of nature. The gestural mark-making of the painted line work, along with dark painted stains spread in the water, not only give a notion of the joy of being in the water, but reflects the human destruction of the inherent peacefulness of the natural habitat on the surface of oceans, lakes and land.