What Came First?

Long Journey Home
Egg Café, Newington (off Bold Street), Sept 3rd - Oct 14th 2005

Reviewed by Josephine Raven

As I entered this exhibition, the first charcoal on paper picture by Louise Taylor was an optimistic opening. This is followed by the diverse figurative works of Lynn Fraser, Martyn Pope, Karen Healey and Rosita Skeete. Fraser's canvases are reminiscent of Pop Art and portray famous pop icons such as Madonna and Jimi Hendrix. Her other works are comparatively different, reminding me more of Japanese animation characters. These works share similarities with the simplistic, almost abstract style of Martyn Pope and Karen Henley's cartoon-like figurative works. Rosita Skeete's more primitive representations offer a stark contrast, her 'dancing naked' figure by far the best piece in this series.

Different forms of photography are also a dominant feature of this exhibition. Julie Nylander and Yemi Abisda share similar themes - from nature to scenes of Liverpool - Nylander's most powerful works being 'still reflection' and 'leaning on'. Abisba's portraits positioned next to those of Wendaseira Kazuski - while good family pictures - are not necessarily something objective viewers would buy. Elizabeth Wade and Jazamin Sinclair both experiment with different forms of photography, creating interesting visual effects.

For me, probably the best oil on canvas piece is Annie McClean's textual portrait and the highly detailed pencil drawing 'pixie mobile' by Peter Mallon also caught my attention. This exhibition contains a complete mixture of genre, style and subject matter, with an equally diverse quality of work. On the whole it offers a broad range of work to suit all manner of tastes.