12 – 30 April  2016

paintings by
JENNIFER BINNIE
woodcuts by
ALEX BINNIE
and ceramics by
KITTY SHEPHERD

Private Views
Tuesday April 12th  6.30 – 8.30pm
Thursday April 14th 6.30-8.30pm
Sunday April 17th 12.00 – 3.00pm

Open Days
Wednesdays 12.00 – 6.00pm

Viewing by appointment at other times.

For further information contact Jonathan Ross: Phone 07747 807576
or jross@gallery286.com

12th – 30th  April 2016

Paintings

Private Views
Tuesday April 12th  6.30 – 8.30pm
Thursday April 14th 6.30-8.30pm
Sunday April 17th 12.00 – 3.00pm

Open Days
Wednesdays 12.00 – 6.00pm

Viewing by appointment at other times.

For further information contact Jonathan Ross: Phone 07747 807576
or jross@gallery286.com

The exhibition comprises ceramic works by Christine Binnie, paintings by Jennifer Binnie and Wilma Johnson, and will also feature a book-reading by Wilma, archive sessions with Christine, and who knows what in the way of surprise performances and guest appearances…

The Neo Naturists were formed in 1980 by Christine Binnie, Jennifer Binnie, Wilma Johnson and Grayson Perry as a performance based live art practice.

The group was started “in the cultural context of post punk, the Blitz Kids, Rolf Harris, transvestites, the advent of Thatcherism and the London club scene.” They usually performed naked wearing body paint.

Regular contestants in Andrew Logan’s Alternative Miss World and exhibitors at James Birch Gallery, the Neo Naturists’ appearances were a memorable feature of 1980s London clubland and art scene, assisted by a shifting cast of performers..

Since 1986, Christine and Jennifer have been the principal Neo Naturists and have tried different ways of performing. “Doing more, doing less, taking themselves seriously, not taking themselves seriously. Still however, performing rituals, household tasks, cooking, singing and giving communion.” These days, apart from their occasional joint activities, Jennifer mainly makes paintings, while Christine is a ceramic artist. She is also compiling The Neo Naturist Archive as a document of their performances, They were recently listed among Andrew Logan’s  10 Biggest Show-Offs  in The Observer Review.

Jennifer Binnie first exhibited at Gallery 286 in 2002, showing her Wildflower Hubcap Paintings in a Christmas Show guest-curated by Andrew Logan, and has since had one person shows here in 2003 and 2007.  Her paintings mainly reflect her life in rural Sussex, real and imaginary, along with her interest in Pagan ceremonies and folklore. Previous exhibitions have investigated Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Jennifer’s very unique version of celebrity portraiture (paintings on canvas ornamented with embroidered details).

Christine has exhibited her highly original ceramics at 286 in several group shows . Traditional forms subverted with often contradictory words and images. She has also produced ceramic works as documents of Neo Naturist activities.

Wilma Johnson moved to Ireland and brought up her children while continuing to paint. Now she lives in France, and has just published ‘Surf Mama’ which tells the story of how she learnt to surf at 42.  This amusing memoir, gorgeously illustrated with her paintings of female archetypes, also recalls Neo Naturist days. It is her first appearance at 286. and the first time she has exhibited current work alongside Christine and Jennifer since the 1980s.

Having been introduced to ceramics by Christine,  Grayson Perry went on to become ‘the first transvestite potter to win the Turner prize’, in 2003. He has just had a one-man show at the British Museum …but I’ve got the girls at 286!

Jonathan Ross February 2012

www.neonaturists.org.uk
www.jenniferbinnie.co.uk
www.wilmaweb.com

9th – 28th October 2007

New Paintings

Private views took place on:
Tuesday October 9th 6.30 – 8.30pm
Thursday October 11th 6.30 – 8.30pm
Thursday October 25th 6.30 – 8.30pm
Sunday October 28th 12.00 – 3.00pm

Due to public demand an extra private view was added on Thursday October 25th, 6.30 – 8.30pm.

Viewing by appointment at other times.

For further information contact Jonathan Ross: Phone 07747 807576
or jross@gallery286.com

Many of the paintings in the exhibition are related loosely or literally to the Grimms Fairy Tales, which I believe to be timelessly important and relevant in their magical exploration of eternal themes such as life and death, sexuality and rites of passage. I have repeatedly met, in my work with troubled children and young people, characters from the stories, such as the ‘bad’ girl from ‘The Woodcutters Child’ and the youth emotionally locked inside his own body as in ‘The iron Stove’. The Grimms Tales are far from fantasy in my mind, describing emotional experiences felt as strongly now as ever. My aim in the paintings has not been to illustrate the stories but to convey emotion through image, colour and gesture.

The other important element of these tales is one that continues to fascinate and excite me. That is, the backdrop in which they are set, the natural world of Northern Europe with its landscapes of forests, mountains and lakes and the constantly changing seasons and light along with the indigenous plants and animals that inhabit it.

‘The Painted Diary’ consists of 113 entries in gouache on black paper which were made between August 2004 and September 2005. The paintings illustrate my personal preoccupation on the day of making the entry. I looked inside myself to explore my deepest emotional and spiritual thoughts when making the diary. Recurring themes are concerned with life and death, art making and energy, cycles of nature and the changing seasons.

More information about Jennifer Binnie on her own website www.jevfinearts.co.uk

Jennifer Binnie’s work as one of the Neo Naturists recently featured in a retrospective exhibition at England & Co.

15th July – 17th September 2003

Paintings

Private views took place on:
Tuesday July 15th, 6.30 – 8.30pm
Sunday July 20th, 12noon – 3pm
Tuesday September 16th, 6.30 – 8.30pm

Viewing by appointment at other times.

For further information contact Jonathan Ross: Phone 07747 807576
or jross@gallery286.com

Sometimes, well known people seem so familiar that you begin to feel as though you know them personally. I have mixed up these iconic faces with familiar and personal images from my family albums. All the images I have chosen move me in someway, often as a result of the expressions of vulnerability and innocence found in the representations of these very different people. With Osama, it was the using of this sad, biblical figure as a target. They had written “I shot the fuck out of his neck” on to the image which was peppered with bullet holes where it had been used for target practise. There was so much anger directed at this unknown face, it was that which moved me to create my own version.

These embroidered, painted icons can be seen in the downstairs gallery at 286 along with thickly painted hubcaps representing flowers of the Sussex downland. All the hubcaps used have been found discarded on the roadside. The diverse range of pattern seen in these objects is compared to naturally occurring pattern in plants and flowers.

In the upstairs gallery are earlier paintings. Expressively painted horses gallop across the South Downs and contemplative goddesses look out across the Sussex landscape.

Jennifer Binnie
June 2003