Pull out your mandrakes, rip them from the dark earth. Release them from the chasm deep and feel the chain tighten one last time.
Brooke Benington is pleased to present Nostalgia for the Mud, a solo exhibition by Alexi Marshall. The exhibition will be at Brooke Benington’s Fitzrovia gallery at 76 Cleveland Street, London W1T 6NB from 28 June until 3 August. The opening reception will be Thursday 27 June 6-8 pm. Marshall often draws on myths, folklore, and animism as allegories for contemporary concerns, particularly of women. Through a series of layered hand-cut "lino-paintings," Nostalgia for the Mud delves into themes of biological time, transformation, and the primal instincts that connect us to our origins, inspired by the enigmatic life cycle of the eel.
Marshall’s process, which she terms “lino-painting," involves intricate, labour-intensive linocut printing without a press, relying on the pressure of her own body to transfer ink to paper. This method, sometimes described as suicide printing, requires meticulous planning and acceptance of finality in each cut and print. The physical engagement and unpredictable outcomes embody the themes of control, transformation, and acceptance that permeate her work. The exhibition uses the eel's journey as a metaphor for our cycles of existence. Eels spend years buried in the mud before returning to the sea to spawn, a mysterious and almost mythological process that echoes our innate desire to return to our roots. Nostalgia for the Mud captures this journey, reflecting on time, phases of life, and the murky depths of the subconscious.
