PRIVATE VIEW: Thursday 23rd March, 6-9pm
‘For everyman is lonesome here As trees give way to blue’ - HHL A sentence; a set of words; a one-liner; a source of exploration for London-based artist Harry Hugo Little. Contemplating loss, grief and the fraught feelings that accompany such intense emotions, Little pulls apart language as a means of processing and asks the viewer to do the same. In his debut solo show don’t leave, individual words trace the circumference of the gallery space, spanning great widths and heights. When close the words are illegible and abstract, they offer recognisable hints whilst remaining concealed within the artists’ unique font. Making distinct alterations to a traditional gothic script, Little stretches, elongates and softens the old English style to give a personalised meaning to the singular words he depicts. When standing back, at an angle or beneath the works, words appear clearer and a sentence begins to form. Leaving fragments of words for the viewer to piece together, language is relocated from the page and lives on via the surface of wooden boards. By pairing the classical nature of oil paint with awkward fragments of wood, Little juxtaposes his technical understanding of the medium and in turn, emphasises the discomfort in discussing the complexities of losing a loved one. Working with linguistics via poetry and painting, Little’s practice is in a constant state of flux; where both mediums inform one another. Written whilst walking the woods nearby his childhood home, this exhibition, not only uses a direct sentence from his poem A Lonesome Walk, but also looks at nature to provide the framework for Little’s earthly colour palette: brown, for the earth's soil, red, for the body’s flesh, green, for the cultivation of growth, and blue, for the unknown afterlife. Loaded with meaning and unavoidably powerful, words can hurt, heal and simultaneously carry complex emotions. Echoing the blurred lines of grief and the individual's search for explanation, Little uses words as a tender expression, flattening, wiping and smudging them, in an ongoing desire for clarity. Narrating raw emotions and vocalising grief, don’t leave is an exhibition that attempts to reach someone who is no longer present. Text by Brooke Wilson About the Artist Harry Hugo Little (b. 1995) lives and works in London, UK. He has recently graduated from Bath Spa, University BFA. Recent exhibitions include: ‘The Front Room Showw II’, D Contemporary, London, UK (2022); ‘A Perpetual Stew’, Usual Business, London, UK (2021); ‘Behind The Glass’, Central Saint Martins Museum and Study Collection, In collaboration with Boys Don’t Cry UK, London, UK (2020), ‘115 Exhibition’, Bargehouse Gallery Space, London, UK (2019); ‘Bath Open Arts Prize’, 44AD Gallery, Bath, UK (2018); ‘The Stone Prize Award Exhibition; Harry Hugo Little’, Mardelbury Gallery, Hertfordshire, UK (2018) About the Curator Brooke Wilson is a writer and curator based in London. She has curated a number of shows in various site-specific, white cube and institutional settings. Shows include, 'Noontime Ghosts' Eve Leibe Gallery (2022); 'Lost Boys' Eve Leibe Gallery (2022); 'Behind The Glass' UAL Museum and Study Collection (2020) and 'Boys Don't Cry in The Digital Age' (2019). As well as curating, Wilson has also contributed to online platforms; Emergent Magazine, DATEAGLE ART and Curatorial Affairs, and co-founded Boys Don’t Cry UK, an art collective and platform raising awareness around male mental health. About The Julius Little Foundation The Julius Little Foundation is a charity whose main goal is to support young people in distress. The charity has been set up in memory of Julius Little and is currently working on programs to be delivered in school, working on aiding the well-being of students’ mental health. About The Bomb Factory The Bomb Factory Art Foundation was founded on the premise that art, artists and creative culture offer significant value in our society. Our mission is to support artists, cultural organisations and educational institutions to engage people of all ages and backgrounds in the viewing and creation of art. The Bomb Factory enables contemporary visual arts practice to thrive through the provision of affordable studio and exhibition space as well as a supportive network of artists where peer collaboration and critique are encouraged. PV: 23rd March, 6-9pm Open: Thurs 23rd - Thurs 30th March, 12-6pm The Bomb Factory Archway, Unit 2, Boothby Road, Archway, London, N19 4AJ