Interest area: art

Explore the imaginative worlds of artist, author and animation creator Curtis Jobling. From beloved children’s TV shows to captivating young adult novels, this retrospective showcases Jobling’s creative journey, highlighting perseverance, determination, and boundless creativity.

The exhibition features original stop-motion puppets and models from Bob the Builder, Frankenstein’s Cat, and Raa Raa the Noisy Lion, showcasing the meticulous craftsmanship behind these beloved characters. Visitors can also marvel at Jobling’s vibrant Biteneck Beatniks paintings and delve into his original sketchbooks to see the evolution of his iconic characters.

Additionally, the original manuscript of the first Wereworld novel offers insight into his creative process. Through Jobling’s diverse works, visitors will journey through the compelling worlds he creates, from construction sites to fantastical realms, while also gaining a glimpse into his ongoing and future projects driven by his passion for storytelling.

Curtis Jobling was born in Blackpool in 1972, moving to Warrington when he was 2 years old. A former pupil of Penketh High School, the school’s motto of Perseverance has proved an inspirational watchword throughout his career.

Artist and researcher Hayley Reid presents the Bring Back Old Billy Committee (BBOBC), a quest to reunite Old Billy’s bonce with his hometown of Warrington.

We’re talking about the world’s oldest horse on record here – Victorian-era taxidermied head and all! The BBOBC is a collaborative effort between artists from Warrington who have created visual art, performance, poetry and music inspired by Old Billy in an effort to entice his head back to the museum.

A BBOBC exhibition will accompany Old Billy’s head at Warrington Museum, with art and music from Beth Davenport, Sammy Reid, Ryan Smith, Joel Rutter, Ketwig Salon, Cameron Brown, Waspdodger, Hayley Reid, Mooncup Theatre, Georgina Burton and Lucianne Canavan.

Part of Warrington Arts Festival

An exhibition featuring James Hallinan & Julie Lawrence

23rd August – 5th October

An exhibition showcasing a complementary duo; James and Julie share a reflective temperament on the impact of their body and mind through experiencing nature, solace and changes in environment. Their abstract figures boxed into rooms or distant on vast beaches are obscured, creating opportunity for the viewer to find a character and themselves within these works.

“I walk every day through local woods and heathland and am fascinated by the way experiences of changing light and weather influence memory and perception. As I contemplate the movement of my own shadow passing through that space, I consider how this is transformed by memory too.”

Julie explains more about her work; “The paintings selected for this exhibition are a response to my walking shadow; my shifting, momentary intuitions, where light and shadow improvise unanticipated harmonies experienced on this simple daily walk. Using predominantly pastels and water-based media, my work reveals my shadow as a transitional, ambiguous figure moving through space – an unresolved tension within the landscape that evokes the fleeting mixture of memory and perception. My instinctive working process involves building up layers of wet and dry media on a small scale. The ambiguous images that emerge strive to invite the viewer into a quiet psychological territory and a liminal space which hovers between nostalgic association and something unknown.”

Julie Lawrence is a Wirral based artist and her work references the spiritual painting language of the Visionary Landscape Tradition. She holds a BA (First Class) and an MA in Fine Art from Chester University. Her most recent exhibitions have included ‘The Pastel Society Annual Open’ exhibitions at the Mall Galleries in London, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Here she was also awarded the 2023 Yoshimoto prize . She is also pleased to have recently contributed to ‘The Drawing paper Show ‘ publication and exhibition and also Platforms Project in Athens. Her work is currently included in The Lady Lever Art Gallery artist spotlight on five female landscape artists working on the Wirral today.

James Hallinan is an artist based in Liverpool who primarily works on canvas using oils, acrylics, and pastels. James’ work has been featured in galleries in Ireland, the UK, and Mexico. James holds a BA in Visual Communication and a PGcert in Fine Art from the University for the Creative Arts London. James’s current work deals with themes surrounding heightened periods of emotions and the effects it has both on the mind and body while reflecting on the root cause. Using the body as a focal point in his work, James creates a visual language that externalises these internal experiences using symbolism throughout to represent past experiences or present beliefs.

Since moving to Liverpool James has used colour and composition discovered and documented while wandering around his local area which are then developed further in the studio. James uses this process to connect to new surroundings, unpack the emotional experience of emigrating from Ireland while drawing on the historical past and present of the area as well as his own. This can be seen in his current series of works, such as No Parking, Identity and Hill Street. The latter two along with the series Rooms are represented in the exhibition Figures in Space.

All artworks are for sale.

Join them for the Private View of the exhibition on Thursday 22nd August from 5pm-7pm.

All welcome, but please register here:

figuresinspacepv.eventbrite.co.uk

The dot-art Gallery can be found at 14 Queen Avenue, Castle Street, Liverpool, L2 4TX (just 5 minutes’ walk from Liverpool One).

Opening times: Tuesday – Saturday, 10am-6pm

The exhibition runs 23rd August – 5th October 2024.