Lisa Carrett, We used to play dress up, 2024
Artist as Archivist brings together the work of Olivia Arnold, Lisa Carrett and Millie Mitchell in an exploration of identity, kin, and home as embedded within the archive. Through diverse mediums encompassing painting, drawing, and bookmaking, and bound by the ethos of slow making, the artists scrutinise the import of heirlooms, documents, and photographs that chronicle individual and familial narratives.
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Gallery’s Reading Room will showcase a curated selection of books exploring artists' interactions with archives, themes of home, displacement, and women's histories. By situating their work within this curated archive, the artists aim to evoke the enduring relevance of archives in times of turmoil, conflict, and displacement. In today's world marked by both global and local tensions over land rights, the Reading Room intervention investigates the distinctions between house and home, inviting viewers to contemplate a diverse array of perspectives, particularly those stemming from marginalised communities.