'Curiouser and Curiouser' - Shana James

Artist Shana James has loved the story of Alice in Wonderland since she was a child.

Curiouser and Curiouser is her third exhibition to use Alice as a theme but possibly not in the way you would expect. Shana’s images do not illustrate the text but instead reimagine it, using elements from the story as metaphors for events in contemporary life. When you enter the gallery, you are surrounded by brightly coloured works which explore the liminal space of Alice falling (Liminal Space Series). A place of transition between the familiar knowing of what was and the uncertainty of what comes next; that moment after the decision has been made but before the outcome is known. The back gallery shows a selection of Shana’s Alice artwork spanning the past five years (Understanding Alice Series, Falling into Place Series) – a mini retrospective of previous Alice artwork, showing the development of her practice and associated ideas.

These images are all printmaking: monoprints, linocuts, and drypoints, a way to make images which is centuries old and steeped in tradition. Shana juxtaposes the sharp precise lines of linocut with loosely painted vividly coloured ink backgrounds to create compelling images that will take you down the rabbit hole into a world of printmaking.

Image: 'After Jumping, Falling'  2019, linocut and ink on paper, monoprint, set of 30 panels, total size 215 h x 162w cm (42 x 27cm each) unframed