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Highgate Literary and Scientific Institution and LUX present Psychosomatic, a film performance by Richard Layzell as part of the Highgate Festival

Psychosomatic is a new work by artist Richard Layzell, his first feature length film and his 101st performance, using material gathered over a seven-year research period including as creative ecologist based at LUX in Waterlow Park.

Psychosomatic follows an intuitive approach to ecology and art practice, where expectations are confounded and accidents become central to the narrative. As this unfolds, through the voice of Kino Paxton, a (fictional) maverick environmentalist, so does the incalculable grief and loss of First Nations peoples in their relationship to land and the natural world, with their holistic philosophy that predates the Deep Ecology of Arne Naess (Norway) and the Fragments of Heraclitus (Ancient Greece).

Geographies linked to these two philosophers are also explored: the site of the first ever eco-action at Mardalsfossen and the birthplace of Heraclitus in Ephesus. A chance hearing of composer Hollis Taylor speaking on the World Service about the song of the pied butcherbird leads to a meeting in Alice Springs. Oranges drop from street trees in Selcuk outside a supermarket that has no oranges, while the two oranges left as offerings to Artemis at the temple should have been pomegranates. The slope elevates the automobile to a higher plane, up where the action is, and in Montreal the highway concrete crumbles and falls onto car roofs.

There’s an enormity to the scale of this work that’s both impressive and absurd. And this reach was never envisaged at the start. Beginning in the back streets of New Malden in 2017 and concluding with a return visit to Ephesus in 2022, the film crosses five continents, and becomes a record of the artist as traveller, performer, photographer, and hearer of voices.

To mark the upcoming screening of ‘Psychosomatic’, we are pleased to bring back Layzell’s 2021 film ‘Marvell Park’ online for a month.

Tracking the extraordinary ups and downs of 2020, ‘Marvell Park’ is a playful and personal meditation on a state of being, of how to move and interact with nature and the space of the park in a time when the world was so tangibly in flux. It takes a long view of the changing seasons and the puzzling activities of humans and other wildlife.

Richard Layzell has worked with most of the major UK public galleries and museums. He is a writer, performer, sculptor, filmmaker and the author of Enhanced Performance (ed Deborah Levy) and Cream Pages (ed Joshua Sofaer). After an extended period as an artist in industry, in the role of ‘visionaire’, he fed this experience back into the public sector, working with many diverse communities nationally and internationally.
www.thenaming.org @Layzell_Paxton

Maggie Jennings: Verdance at the Highgate Gallery

These vibrant drawings and paintings from nature are active celebrations of the energy and urgency of life, and life’s transformation and decay. They develop themes from Jennings successful show at Highgate Gallery 5 years ago. The shock of Covid lockdown caused the artist to experience both claustrophobia and a liberating freedom from established routine. She spent time sketching her garden’s wild proliferation; the mass and tangle of plant growth studied up-close giving rise to a wealth of visual information, resulting in some paintings being worked like tapestry. These shown alongside her delicate prints of individual plant studies.

Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00, Saturdays 11:00-16:00 Sundays 11:00-17:00, Mondays & Tuesdays Closed

Private View: Friday 09 June 2023 18:00-20:30

Maggie Jennings: Verdance at the Highgate Gallery

These vibrant drawings and paintings from nature are active celebrations of the energy and urgency of life, and life’s transformation and decay. They develop themes from Jennings successful show at Highgate Gallery 5 years ago. The shock of Covid lockdown caused the artist to experience both claustrophobia and a liberating freedom from established routine. She spent time sketching her garden’s wild proliferation; the mass and tangle of plant growth studied up-close giving rise to a wealth of visual information, resulting in some paintings being worked like tapestry. These shown alongside her delicate prints of individual plant studies.

Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00, Saturdays 11:00-16:00 Sundays 11:00-17:00, Mondays & Tuesdays Closed

Private View: Friday 09 June 2023 18:00-20:30

Maggie Jennings: Verdance at the Highgate Gallery

These vibrant drawings and paintings from nature are active celebrations of the energy and urgency of life, and life’s transformation and decay. They develop themes from Jennings successful show at Highgate Gallery 5 years ago. The shock of Covid lockdown caused the artist to experience both claustrophobia and a liberating freedom from established routine. She spent time sketching her garden’s wild proliferation; the mass and tangle of plant growth studied up-close giving rise to a wealth of visual information, resulting in some paintings being worked like tapestry. These shown alongside her delicate prints of individual plant studies.

Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00, Saturdays 11:00-16:00 Sundays 11:00-17:00, Mondays & Tuesdays Closed

Private View: Friday 09 June 2023 18:00-20:30

Maggie Jennings: Verdance at the Highgate Gallery

These vibrant drawings and paintings from nature are active celebrations of the energy and urgency of life, and life’s transformation and decay. They develop themes from Jennings successful show at Highgate Gallery 5 years ago. The shock of Covid lockdown caused the artist to experience both claustrophobia and a liberating freedom from established routine. She spent time sketching her garden’s wild proliferation; the mass and tangle of plant growth studied up-close giving rise to a wealth of visual information, resulting in some paintings being worked like tapestry. These shown alongside her delicate prints of individual plant studies.

Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00, Saturdays 11:00-16:00 Sundays 11:00-17:00, Mondays & Tuesdays Closed

Private View: Friday 09 June 2023 18:00-20:30

Maggie Jennings: Verdance at the Highgate Gallery

These vibrant drawings and paintings from nature are active celebrations of the energy and urgency of life, and life’s transformation and decay. They develop themes from Jennings successful show at Highgate Gallery 5 years ago. The shock of Covid lockdown caused the artist to experience both claustrophobia and a liberating freedom from established routine. She spent time sketching her garden’s wild proliferation; the mass and tangle of plant growth studied up-close giving rise to a wealth of visual information, resulting in some paintings being worked like tapestry. These shown alongside her delicate prints of individual plant studies.

Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00, Saturdays 11:00-16:00 Sundays 11:00-17:00, Mondays & Tuesdays Closed

Private View: Friday 09 June 2023 18:00-20:30

Maggie Jennings: Verdance at the Highgate Gallery

These vibrant drawings and paintings from nature are active celebrations of the energy and urgency of life, and life’s transformation and decay. They develop themes from Jennings successful show at Highgate Gallery 5 years ago. The shock of Covid lockdown caused the artist to experience both claustrophobia and a liberating freedom from established routine. She spent time sketching her garden’s wild proliferation; the mass and tangle of plant growth studied up-close giving rise to a wealth of visual information, resulting in some paintings being worked like tapestry. These shown alongside her delicate prints of individual plant studies.

Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00, Saturdays 11:00-16:00 Sundays 11:00-17:00, Mondays & Tuesdays Closed

Private View: Friday 09 June 2023 18:00-20:30

Lyn Melville-James

Describing Landscape

7 – 20 July

From the monumental geography of landscapes to the interwoven detail, nature is in a state of perpetual change in Lyn-Melville James paintings.

Lines, patterns and slabs of colour give emotional force to these works, which go beyond describing landscape to describing “a never ending orchestration of life force”.

A powerful show which includes graphite drawings, lino cuts, etchings and pastels.

Gallery open:

Weds – Fri: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday 11.00 – 17.00

Lyn Melville-James

Describing Landscape

7 – 20 July

From the monumental geography of landscapes to the interwoven detail, nature is in a state of perpetual change in Lyn-Melville James paintings.

Lines, patterns and slabs of colour give emotional force to these works, which go beyond describing landscape to describing “a never ending orchestration of life force”.

A powerful show which includes graphite drawings, lino cuts, etchings and pastels.

Gallery open:

Weds – Fri: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday 11.00 – 17.00

Lyn Melville-James

Describing Landscape

7 – 20 July

From the monumental geography of landscapes to the interwoven detail, nature is in a state of perpetual change in Lyn-Melville James paintings.

Lines, patterns and slabs of colour give emotional force to these works, which go beyond describing landscape to describing “a never ending orchestration of life force”.

A powerful show which includes graphite drawings, lino cuts, etchings and pastels.

Gallery open:

Weds – Fri: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday 11.00 – 17.00

Lyn Melville-James

Describing Landscape

7 – 20 July

From the monumental geography of landscapes to the interwoven detail, nature is in a state of perpetual change in Lyn-Melville James paintings.

Lines, patterns and slabs of colour give emotional force to these works, which go beyond describing landscape to describing “a never ending orchestration of life force”.

A powerful show which includes graphite drawings, lino cuts, etchings and pastels.

Gallery open:

Weds – Fri: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday 11.00 – 17.00

Lyn Melville-James

Describing Landscape

7 – 20 July

From the monumental geography of landscapes to the interwoven detail, nature is in a state of perpetual change in Lyn-Melville James paintings.

Lines, patterns and slabs of colour give emotional force to these works, which go beyond describing landscape to describing “a never ending orchestration of life force”.

A powerful show which includes graphite drawings, lino cuts, etchings and pastels.

Gallery open:

Weds – Fri: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday 11.00 – 17.00

Lyn Melville-James

Describing Landscape

7 – 20 July

From the monumental geography of landscapes to the interwoven detail, nature is in a state of perpetual change in Lyn-Melville James paintings.

Lines, patterns and slabs of colour give emotional force to these works, which go beyond describing landscape to describing “a never ending orchestration of life force”.

A powerful show which includes graphite drawings, lino cuts, etchings and pastels.

Gallery open:

Weds – Fri: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday 11.00 – 17.00

Lyn Melville-James

Describing Landscape

7 – 20 July

From the monumental geography of landscapes to the interwoven detail, nature is in a state of perpetual change in Lyn-Melville James paintings.

Lines, patterns and slabs of colour give emotional force to these works, which go beyond describing landscape to describing “a never ending orchestration of life force”.

A powerful show which includes graphite drawings, lino cuts, etchings and pastels.

Gallery open:

Weds – Fri: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday 11.00 – 17.00

Lyn Melville-James

Describing Landscape

7 – 20 July

From the monumental geography of landscapes to the interwoven detail, nature is in a state of perpetual change in Lyn-Melville James paintings.

Lines, patterns and slabs of colour give emotional force to these works, which go beyond describing landscape to describing “a never ending orchestration of life force”.

A powerful show which includes graphite drawings, lino cuts, etchings and pastels.

Gallery open:

Weds – Fri: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday 11.00 – 17.00

Lyn Melville-James

Describing Landscape

7 – 20 July

From the monumental geography of landscapes to the interwoven detail, nature is in a state of perpetual change in Lyn-Melville James paintings.

Lines, patterns and slabs of colour give emotional force to these works, which go beyond describing landscape to describing “a never ending orchestration of life force”.

A powerful show which includes graphite drawings, lino cuts, etchings and pastels.

Gallery open:

Weds – Fri: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday 11.00 – 17.00

Lyn Melville-James

Describing Landscape

7 – 20 July

From the monumental geography of landscapes to the interwoven detail, nature is in a state of perpetual change in Lyn-Melville James paintings.

Lines, patterns and slabs of colour give emotional force to these works, which go beyond describing landscape to describing “a never ending orchestration of life force”.

A powerful show which includes graphite drawings, lino cuts, etchings and pastels.

Gallery open:

Weds – Fri: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday 11.00 – 17.00

Whitman is an artist/printmaker who frequently draws inspiration from myths, literature and story-telling. Her                  engagement in a range of media and her understanding of the historical context of particular material processes inform her fascination with the idea of transformation. At Highgate Gallery she will be showing works created inresponse to: the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone; Emily Bront’s novel Wuthering Heights; and, the subject of Transformation itself, works which Whitman refers to collectively as ‘Alchemical Allegories’. The thread binding her content together is the notion of a domain existing within, and beyond – the material world.

Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays 11:00-16:00, Sundays 11:00-17:00,
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 15 September 2023 18:00-20:30

Highgate Gallery Rosalind Whitman Transformations – Lizards Bite

Whitman is an artist/printmaker who frequently draws inspiration from myths, literature and story-telling. Her                  engagement in a range of media and her understanding of the historical context of particular material processes inform her fascination with the idea of transformation. At Highgate Gallery she will be showing works created inresponse to: the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone; Emily Bront’s novel Wuthering Heights; and, the subject of Transformation itself, works which Whitman refers to collectively as ‘Alchemical Allegories’. The thread binding her content together is the notion of a domain existing within, and beyond – the material world.

Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays 11:00-16:00, Sundays 11:00-17:00,
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 15 September 2023 18:00-20:30

Highgate Gallery Rosalind Whitman Transformations – Lizards Bite

Whitman is an artist/printmaker who frequently draws inspiration from myths, literature and story-telling. Her                  engagement in a range of media and her understanding of the historical context of particular material processes inform her fascination with the idea of transformation. At Highgate Gallery she will be showing works created inresponse to: the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone; Emily Bront’s novel Wuthering Heights; and, the subject of Transformation itself, works which Whitman refers to collectively as ‘Alchemical Allegories’. The thread binding her content together is the notion of a domain existing within, and beyond – the material world.

Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays 11:00-16:00, Sundays 11:00-17:00,
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 15 September 2023 18:00-20:30

Highgate Gallery Rosalind Whitman Transformations – Lizards Bite

Whitman is an artist/printmaker who frequently draws inspiration from myths, literature and story-telling. Her                  engagement in a range of media and her understanding of the historical context of particular material processes inform her fascination with the idea of transformation. At Highgate Gallery she will be showing works created inresponse to: the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone; Emily Bront’s novel Wuthering Heights; and, the subject of Transformation itself, works which Whitman refers to collectively as ‘Alchemical Allegories’. The thread binding her content together is the notion of a domain existing within, and beyond – the material world.

Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays 11:00-16:00, Sundays 11:00-17:00,
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 15 September 2023 18:00-20:30

Highgate Gallery Rosalind Whitman Transformations – Lizards Bite

Whitman is an artist/printmaker who frequently draws inspiration from myths, literature and story-telling. Her                  engagement in a range of media and her understanding of the historical context of particular material processes inform her fascination with the idea of transformation. At Highgate Gallery she will be showing works created inresponse to: the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone; Emily Bront’s novel Wuthering Heights; and, the subject of Transformation itself, works which Whitman refers to collectively as ‘Alchemical Allegories’. The thread binding her content together is the notion of a domain existing within, and beyond – the material world.

Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays 11:00-16:00, Sundays 11:00-17:00,
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 15 September 2023 18:00-20:30

Highgate Gallery Rosalind Whitman Transformations – Lizards Bite

Whitman is an artist/printmaker who frequently draws inspiration from myths, literature and story-telling. Her                  engagement in a range of media and her understanding of the historical context of particular material processes inform her fascination with the idea of transformation. At Highgate Gallery she will be showing works created inresponse to: the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone; Emily Bront’s novel Wuthering Heights; and, the subject of Transformation itself, works which Whitman refers to collectively as ‘Alchemical Allegories’. The thread binding her content together is the notion of a domain existing within, and beyond – the material world.

Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays 11:00-16:00, Sundays 11:00-17:00,
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 15 September 2023 18:00-20:30

Highgate Gallery Rosalind Whitman Transformations – Lizards Bite

Whitman is an artist/printmaker who frequently draws inspiration from myths, literature and story-telling. Her                  engagement in a range of media and her understanding of the historical context of particular material processes inform her fascination with the idea of transformation. At Highgate Gallery she will be showing works created inresponse to: the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone; Emily Bront’s novel Wuthering Heights; and, the subject of Transformation itself, works which Whitman refers to collectively as ‘Alchemical Allegories’. The thread binding her content together is the notion of a domain existing within, and beyond – the material world.

Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays 11:00-16:00, Sundays 11:00-17:00,
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 15 September 2023 18:00-20:30

Highgate Gallery Rosalind Whitman Transformations – Lizards Bite

Whitman is an artist/printmaker who frequently draws inspiration from myths, literature and story-telling. Her                  engagement in a range of media and her understanding of the historical context of particular material processes inform her fascination with the idea of transformation. At Highgate Gallery she will be showing works created inresponse to: the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone; Emily Bront’s novel Wuthering Heights; and, the subject of Transformation itself, works which Whitman refers to collectively as ‘Alchemical Allegories’. The thread binding her content together is the notion of a domain existing within, and beyond – the material world.

Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays 11:00-16:00, Sundays 11:00-17:00,
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 15 September 2023 18:00-20:30

Highgate Gallery Rosalind Whitman Transformations – Lizards Bite

Whitman is an artist/printmaker who frequently draws inspiration from myths, literature and story-telling. Her                  engagement in a range of media and her understanding of the historical context of particular material processes inform her fascination with the idea of transformation. At Highgate Gallery she will be showing works created inresponse to: the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone; Emily Bront’s novel Wuthering Heights; and, the subject of Transformation itself, works which Whitman refers to collectively as ‘Alchemical Allegories’. The thread binding her content together is the notion of a domain existing within, and beyond – the material world.

Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays 11:00-16:00, Sundays 11:00-17:00,
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 15 September 2023 18:00-20:30

Highgate Gallery Rosalind Whitman Transformations – Lizards Bite

Whitman is an artist/printmaker who frequently draws inspiration from myths, literature and story-telling. Her                  engagement in a range of media and her understanding of the historical context of particular material processes inform her fascination with the idea of transformation. At Highgate Gallery she will be showing works created inresponse to: the Greek myth Demeter and Persephone; Emily Bront’s novel Wuthering Heights; and, the subject of Transformation itself, works which Whitman refers to collectively as ‘Alchemical Allegories’. The thread binding her content together is the notion of a domain existing within, and beyond – the material world.

Gallery times: Wednesdays to Fridays 13:00-17:00,
Saturdays 11:00-16:00, Sundays 11:00-17:00,
Mondays & Tuesdays Closed
Private View: Friday 15 September 2023 18:00-20:30

Highgate Gallery Rosalind Whitman Transformations – Lizards Bite

Marianne Fox Ockinga: Kings Cross – All Change

Recording the current upheaval in the landscape round the two great Victorian railway terminals of King’s Cross and St Pancras in relief prints, etchings, paintings, and drawings. A revolution in human and architectural affairs. This exhibition focuses on the huge changes in the area brilliantly depicted by Dickens in his novel ‘Dombey and Sons’ and frequented by the young Thomas Hardy.

Marianne has worked in the area for more than four decades. She has sketched and painted in the field, setting up her easel in notorious locations such as Goodsway and Coal Drop Yard, beside the Granary Square campus of the University of the Arts.

“These works are from the year 2000, when the area round St Pancras changed dramatically. It had become a gloomy and derelict place, as many of the old red brick Victorian buildings crumbled or were eradicated by the developers’ wrecking ball. I first saw and recorded this when, some years before, I was invited into the now demolished Culross Building to draw and paint. From the roof, I could clearly see the outline of Highgate in the distance.”

Recovering from a serious illness, in 2001 Marianne felt reinvigorated and eager to get down to work again at St Pancras. The first shock was to see cranes behind a scaffold of hoardings starting to yank out the Victorian gasholders. Marianne wanted to record what was happening quickly, knowing time was not on her side. Often, she went out at night, using the canal towpath, especially sinister in the shadows now that the familiar public lighting had been removed. By working regularly on site, local businesses got to know her work, and became supportive. Several exhibitions, presentations and shows in public and commercial venues ensued. These began with ‘Transition July 2002’ at the CTRL Visitor Centre at St Pancras. She held shows in a range of venues in the UK and Netherlands.

Marianne was born in the Netherlands but began her art education at the Bath Academy of Art in 1960. She completed her training at the  Rijksakademie, Amsterdam, returning to settle in the UK in 1971.  Marianne has always favoured working in the open air, drawing and painting from observation. Until 2000 she focused on landscapes across Europe, in the Netherlands and Italy especially. She also has taken portrait commissions. Since 1971 printmaking became the main focus of her work, especially after acquiring a large Columbian press.

In London Marianne has also worked at large sites in transformation, undertaken by invitation and commission, such as the Olympic Park for the 2012 Games and the Arsenal Emirates complex. She was also witness to the decommissioning and conversion of the elegant art deco Arsenal Highbury Stadium complex, recording in a variety of media. Her work is in collections both public and private, among them the Victoria and Albert Museum. She is a brother member of the Art Workers Guild.

Highgate Gallery is open:

Wed – Friday: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday: 11.00 – 17.00

Marianne Fox Ockinga: Kings Cross – All Change

Recording the current upheaval in the landscape round the two great Victorian railway terminals of King’s Cross and St Pancras in relief prints, etchings, paintings, and drawings. A revolution in human and architectural affairs. This exhibition focuses on the huge changes in the area brilliantly depicted by Dickens in his novel ‘Dombey and Sons’ and frequented by the young Thomas Hardy.

Marianne has worked in the area for more than four decades. She has sketched and painted in the field, setting up her easel in notorious locations such as Goodsway and Coal Drop Yard, beside the Granary Square campus of the University of the Arts.

“These works are from the year 2000, when the area round St Pancras changed dramatically. It had become a gloomy and derelict place, as many of the old red brick Victorian buildings crumbled or were eradicated by the developers’ wrecking ball. I first saw and recorded this when, some years before, I was invited into the now demolished Culross Building to draw and paint. From the roof, I could clearly see the outline of Highgate in the distance.”

Recovering from a serious illness, in 2001 Marianne felt reinvigorated and eager to get down to work again at St Pancras. The first shock was to see cranes behind a scaffold of hoardings starting to yank out the Victorian gasholders. Marianne wanted to record what was happening quickly, knowing time was not on her side. Often, she went out at night, using the canal towpath, especially sinister in the shadows now that the familiar public lighting had been removed. By working regularly on site, local businesses got to know her work, and became supportive. Several exhibitions, presentations and shows in public and commercial venues ensued. These began with ‘Transition July 2002’ at the CTRL Visitor Centre at St Pancras. She held shows in a range of venues in the UK and Netherlands.

Marianne was born in the Netherlands but began her art education at the Bath Academy of Art in 1960. She completed her training at the  Rijksakademie, Amsterdam, returning to settle in the UK in 1971.  Marianne has always favoured working in the open air, drawing and painting from observation. Until 2000 she focused on landscapes across Europe, in the Netherlands and Italy especially. She also has taken portrait commissions. Since 1971 printmaking became the main focus of her work, especially after acquiring a large Columbian press.

In London Marianne has also worked at large sites in transformation, undertaken by invitation and commission, such as the Olympic Park for the 2012 Games and the Arsenal Emirates complex. She was also witness to the decommissioning and conversion of the elegant art deco Arsenal Highbury Stadium complex, recording in a variety of media. Her work is in collections both public and private, among them the Victoria and Albert Museum. She is a brother member of the Art Workers Guild.

Highgate Gallery is open:

Wed – Friday: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday: 11.00 – 17.00

Marianne Fox Ockinga: Kings Cross – All Change

Recording the current upheaval in the landscape round the two great Victorian railway terminals of King’s Cross and St Pancras in relief prints, etchings, paintings, and drawings. A revolution in human and architectural affairs. This exhibition focuses on the huge changes in the area brilliantly depicted by Dickens in his novel ‘Dombey and Sons’ and frequented by the young Thomas Hardy.

Marianne has worked in the area for more than four decades. She has sketched and painted in the field, setting up her easel in notorious locations such as Goodsway and Coal Drop Yard, beside the Granary Square campus of the University of the Arts.

“These works are from the year 2000, when the area round St Pancras changed dramatically. It had become a gloomy and derelict place, as many of the old red brick Victorian buildings crumbled or were eradicated by the developers’ wrecking ball. I first saw and recorded this when, some years before, I was invited into the now demolished Culross Building to draw and paint. From the roof, I could clearly see the outline of Highgate in the distance.”

Recovering from a serious illness, in 2001 Marianne felt reinvigorated and eager to get down to work again at St Pancras. The first shock was to see cranes behind a scaffold of hoardings starting to yank out the Victorian gasholders. Marianne wanted to record what was happening quickly, knowing time was not on her side. Often, she went out at night, using the canal towpath, especially sinister in the shadows now that the familiar public lighting had been removed. By working regularly on site, local businesses got to know her work, and became supportive. Several exhibitions, presentations and shows in public and commercial venues ensued. These began with ‘Transition July 2002’ at the CTRL Visitor Centre at St Pancras. She held shows in a range of venues in the UK and Netherlands.

Marianne was born in the Netherlands but began her art education at the Bath Academy of Art in 1960. She completed her training at the  Rijksakademie, Amsterdam, returning to settle in the UK in 1971.  Marianne has always favoured working in the open air, drawing and painting from observation. Until 2000 she focused on landscapes across Europe, in the Netherlands and Italy especially. She also has taken portrait commissions. Since 1971 printmaking became the main focus of her work, especially after acquiring a large Columbian press.

In London Marianne has also worked at large sites in transformation, undertaken by invitation and commission, such as the Olympic Park for the 2012 Games and the Arsenal Emirates complex. She was also witness to the decommissioning and conversion of the elegant art deco Arsenal Highbury Stadium complex, recording in a variety of media. Her work is in collections both public and private, among them the Victoria and Albert Museum. She is a brother member of the Art Workers Guild.

Highgate Gallery is open:

Wed – Friday: 13.00 – 17.00

Saturday: 11.00 – 16.00

Sunday: 11.00 – 17.00