A new art exhibition combining photography, poetry, prose and property floor plans is coming to the University of Winchester’s West Downs Gallery.
'Dressing my Homunculus' is the first visual arts show created by Glenn Fosbraey, Associate Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University, better known for his writing projects.
The exhibition pairs imagery – often distorted Fosbraey family photos – with small placards of his prose and poetry.
Glenn explains: “The main theme is portraying what living with mental ill health over the course of several decades looks like for one individual.
“Although it explores some dark moments, it also shows how joy and serenity can appear at any moment. The working title for the project was ‘tales of hopelessness and hope’ and having that in mind throughout its construction made me focus on the light as well as the shade.”
In Glenn’s case “the Homunculus” is the littler person we have inside us and the dressing is all the baggage of everyday life with which we burden it.
Words and pictures were created separately and married up later to create 20 complementary couplings.
Glenn’ s images of distorted the faces were directly inspired by Francis Bacon’s ‘Man in Blue’ portrait series depicting a lonely blurry-face businessman.
“I attempted to elicit similarly conflicted emotions in some of my own images,” said Glenn.
“I also love the way photographers like Tony Rae-Jones and Serena Brown focus on the ‘everyday’ in their work and aimed to contrast the more abstract images of the exhibit with mundane things like egg and chips, a shed, or some urinals.”
And the floorplans?
They come from Glenn’s old houses which he tracked down on the internet.
“The floor plans were directly inspired by Uketsu’s novels Strange Pictures and Strange Houses, and the text, which includes several poems in senryu and haibun formats, was inspired by Elizabeth Searle Lamb, and Rupi Kaur.
“Releasing any creative project into the world is a nerve-racking experience, and if there are personal elements involved, it’s even more terrifying, said Glenn. “I’ve learnt that although my self-consciousness remains as strong as ever, I now have the confidence/ stupidity to go ahead anyway.
“Hopefully the exhibition will make people think, talk, and embark on their own creative projects.”
The exhibition runs from 16 February to 15 March. West Downs Gallery is open to the public from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8.30am to 4pm on Saturdays.