STORYTELLING - Gala Hills Solo Exhibition at the Bomb Factory Holborn

This summer, The Bomb Factory Art Foundation is pleased to present StoryTelling, a solo exhibition by recent Slade graduate Gala Hills. Drawing on folk tales, ancient myths and personal memory, Hills conjures a world inhabited by hybrid beings; fish-men, minotaurs, anthropomorphic bears and owl-women. These characters emerge in atmospheric forestscapes and imagined terrains, staring out at us, inviting a moment of recognition or pause. At the heart of her practice is a fascination with transformation: human to animal, myth to body, outsider to icon.

Inspired by historical female figures who defied social norms, often by aligning themselves with animal traits or behaviour, Hills reclaims the symbolic ‘animalisation’ of women and female-presenting people as a space of curiosity, resistance and renewal. Her characters cradle creatures, become them, or observe them with knowing stillness. In places, the works lean into humour: a fish smokes a cigarette, seemingly mid-thought.

Working across unstretched calico, loose paper, stretched canvas, and zines, Hills blurs the boundaries between painting, storytelling, and installation. A key piece, Bloudeuwedd and Crab, was painted on a Cornish beach using seawater and rain, a process that merges myth, weather, and intuition. Using water-mixable oils and watercolour in loose washes, her approach is quick and instinctive, allowing figures to emerge before they can be overthought.

The exhibition also nods to Hills’ deep engagement with music. Alongside the paintings, she has recorded an album, Songs for You, including a track featuring her 12-year-old sister Anoushka playing viola against the sound of crashing waves and flitting bats. This sense of improvisation and connection to the natural world runs throughout the exhibition and offers a nod to the name of the show. Hills actively blurs the boundaries between how we imagine, conceive and share stories. She weaves together oral storytelling, painting and weather-led processes to forge a new way of telling tales.

Artist 

Gala Hills (born 2001) is an artist from Dartmoor, Devon, working across painting, murals, songwriting and film. She completed her BFA at the Ruskin School of Art in 2023 and her MA in Painting at the Slade School of Fine Art in 2025. Home educated, Hills developed a holistic approach to learning that spans history, mythology, zoology, literature and theology. Her work is grounded in both deep research and spontaneous creation, drawing on lived experience and academic inquiry alike.

PRIVATE VIEW: Thurs 17th July, 6-8pm

LOCATION: 99 Kingsway, WC2B 6QX

DATES: 18th July - 10th August

TIMES: Weds - Sat, 12-6pm