After a successful year of making and selling art, Midge has been working hard on a new exhibition for the Corner Collective. The artist gained a lot of new interest after creating a wonderful mural for Hilsea Lido back in March. Everyone loved the piece called ‘My Safe Place Is You’ and a print was produced to celebrate the success of the spray paint jam that happened across a very cold wknd.
The print has become one of the biggest-selling prints in the Corner Collective gallery on Albert Road. This then led to a real enthusiasm and newfound energy for the artist.
Talking of how Midge got into art, she said, “I always used to draw as a little girl and that never went away. I went through college and university and art is something I have always done. I then met My Dog Sighs and Ooberla at a creative hang out and we all started painting and spending time together. These friends spurred me on to keep painting and being inspired as well as my husband who is a resident artist at the Corner Collective, ‘Mook Loves You.’
Lou’s last exhibition was in 2016 at Playdead on Highland Road and she said that this new show will be a mixture of all kinds of work, from skateboards to wooden pieces and new sticker packs, but no particular narrative. Speaking of the title of the exhibition ‘Out There Somewhere Still’, Lou said that it is inspired by a Jeff Buckley song that she loves and has been listening to. The words of the song remind her of her art. The fact that she still hasn’t quite landed in the place where she wanted to but she is still trying to find it. A reflection of Lou being away from her art for a while but is still out there and still has dreams and wants to do so much with her art and her life.
Having just quit her job working at a doctor’s surgery and stepping into a more creative role means Lou can have more of a creative plan of where she wants her art to go. For now, we are just appreciating the inspiration she has had to create such wow pieces for the exhibition.
I love the growth of Midge as she tries different mediums whether that’s with lino printing, clay or spray paint. Midge said she loves playing with clay and recently got back into doing sessions down at Portsea with Matt from the Clay Room. I see her always evolving and developing her skills which is exciting to watch.
Having had a sneak peek at the upcoming exhibition which starts this Friday the 3rd of November, all I can say is if you are a Midge fan at all, you are going to love this exhibition. I have said this before but I love the characters that Lou creates as they are not human but not quite animal either. For me, I always feel a sense of warmth and vulnerability to the characters and I think that is part of the appeal, the fact that Midge’s work can be and will be perceived in different ways by the audience. There are some fun elements to this new collection of work as well in the form of cats! So look out for those!
Come along and join Lou at the Corner Collective which is based on the corner of Albert Road.
Opening times are
Friday 3rd November evening – 6pm until 9pm
Saturday 4th November 11am – 4pm
Sunday 5th November 11am -4pm
Thursday 9th November 11am – 4pm
Friday 10th November 11am – 4pm
Saturday 11th November 11am – 4pm
Featured Image – This Is Midge
