![](3D"http://www.catalystmedia.org.uk/issues/misc/images/fellow_travelle=) Fellow Travellers
, Greenland Street
20th September =
=E2=80=93 30th=20
November 2008 (Tue-Sun, 10am-5pm)
Reviewed by
Fellow Travellers is the title of the Homotopia exhibition =
presently=20
showing at Novas in Liverpool. I went to have a look at the =
artworks and=20
the talent and diversity of paintings as well as mixed media =
impressed me.=20
If I could sum it up atmospherically, I would use the word =
metaphysical.=20
There was something mysterious - almost alchemical - going on with =
many of=20
the works and that is something I haven=E2=80=99t seen for a long =
time.
Nick Hunt - an artist and one of the curators of the exhibition =
-=20
exhibited a series of exquisite prints titled On Mum=E2=80=99s Old =
Chair,=20
depicting figurative images in a faded blue (technique known as =
cyanotype)=20
of his partner standing in a room, reminiscent of old prints that =
you=20
sometimes may find inside an old antiquarian book; sensitively and =
beautifully constructed.
Chris Turrell=E2=80=99s mixed media titled Strange Meeting is =
an assemblage box=20
containing a model centaur lit up in a moody blue haunting light. =
It was=20
atmospheric and at the same time magical.
Chris Von Steiner=E2=80=99s digital prints of =
=E2=80=98mythological=E2=80=99 and =E2=80=98fairytale=E2=80=99=20
fantasy landscapes with images of stunning goddesses and princes =
on stags=20
in snowy landscapes were fascinating and beautiful.
Laura Lipton=E2=80=99s Leashed Passion - a lithograph of child =
perched on the=20
back of a mythological creature - took me back to childhood =
fairytales and=20
was reminiscent of the Victorian illustrator, Gustave Dor=C3=A9. =
This drawing=20
was beautiful, strange and surreal at the same time.
Na=C3=AFve John=E2=80=99s Gicl=C3=A9e print The Chav-ant Garde =
was =E2=80=98remodern=E2=80=99 kitsch,=20
clever and skilful as well as being allegorical.
There was no mistaking the blatant skill of Sadie Lee=E2=80=99s =
portraits (oils=20
on canvas). The Actresses was particularly moving and a highly =
skilful=20
example of contemporary portraiture.
Other interesting artists included Holly Johnson, Trademark and =
Asa=20
Johannesson amongst many others.
In complete contrast to most of the artworks in the show, there =
is also=20
a retrospective of erotic drawings by the legendary gay artist Tom =
of=20
Finland, featuring eighty-eight works on paper from 1944-1989. =
There was=20
no doubting Tom=E2=80=99s talent for drawing. His use of line and =
detail were=20
sensitive and also confident. It did also occur to me that =
although many=20
of the drawings were based upon fantasy and although the drawings =
could be=20
described at times as pornography, there was a noticeable lack of=20
hierarchy in the temperament between the characters which I felt =
was=20
unthreatening and in many ways, humorous and witty. However, once =
you get=20
beyond the interpretation, there is no doubting that Tom was a =
highly=20
skilled artist.
Having spoken to Nick Hunt who kindly showed me around this =
exhibition,=20
I asked him if there was anything specific that needed pointing =
out. He=20
told me that although the group show came from a desire to show =
lesbian=20
and gay artists and their work, it was important to stress that =
the show=20
was not necessarily for a gay audience. I certainly would agree =
with that.=20
There was an overall sense of glamour but there seemed to be=20
interconnections happening in terms of symbolism, narrative and =
allegory=20
throughout the works.
I enjoyed this exhibition and found a lot of the works very=20
inspiring.
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