I Do & I Undo | Group Show | Sarah Wiseman Gallery

This exhibition unravels the traditional ideals of femininity and re-writes them to represent contemporary narratives, using the figure as a vehicle for storytelling. Exhibiting artists are Bliss Coulthard, Emily Gibbard, Heidi Inez, Erin Rosalie Thomas, Veronica Wells & Anastasia Zamaraeva. The title ‘I Do & I Undo’ riffs off of the working philosophy of late conceptual artist Louise Bourgeois, particularly her commitment to revisiting and reworking artworks over time. The exhibition explores the evolving nature of contemporary femininity and the female experience, approached with humour, honesty, sensitivity, and strength. Figurative work is central to the exhibition, serving as a vehicle for storytelling and personal expression. Bliss Coulthard is a figurative watercolour painter based in London, UK. Her practice often looks to the past, drawing on memories that have shaped her - moments of love, loss, heartbreak, and everything in between. She finds that painting allows her to express emotions she struggles to put into words, using image and atmosphere as a way of communicating what feels internal and, at times, difficult to articulate. Bliss studied Painting at University of Brighton, before completing an MA in Illustration at UAL. Emily Gibbard is a ceramicist based in Bristol, UK. She creates wheel-thrown vessels, transforming them into large scale ceramic sculptures of biomorphic forms that explore body perception, identity and sexuality. Rooted in the traditions of pottery, Emily experiments with thrown forms to create abstract representations of the body. Emily has had showcases at Collect, London Craft Week and a recipient of Craft Council DYCP Funding. She is Founder and Director of Windmill Clay artist-led ceramics studio which provides workspaces, mentoring and classes. Heidi Inez is an emerging ceramicist based in Buckinghamshire, UK. She illustrates women on ceramics, inspired by the eccentric, bold, and brilliantly dressed women she encounters on her commute in and around London. With a background in fashion illustration, she combines her love of ceramics and drawing to explore the multifaceted and complex nature of female expression. Heidi studied BA Fashion Illustration at London College of Fashion. Erin Rosalie Thomas is a painter and printmaker whose practice explores emotional nuance through facial expression and body language. Her work centres on neurodivergent femininity, creating intimately zoomed compositions inspired by the relationships and associations we form with everyday objects. She needle felts elements of her paintings which create a sensory invitation to the work; she also makes painterly monoprints to accompany them. Erin studied BA Fine Art at Kingston School of Art and has since exhibited her work nationally. Veronica Wells is a figurative painter based in London, UK. She draws her influences from popular culture, examining images that portray an idealised way of life. Fashion, material possessions, image, style and relationships are all explored enticing the viewer into her world. Mixing rough and broad brushstrokes with finer, more intricate details, Veronica Wells paintings questions ideas of perfection. She graduated from Winchester College of Art (2009) and continues to exhibit her work nationally, exhibiting with Sarah Wiseman Gallery since 2012. Anastassia Zamaraeva is a sculptural ceramic artist based in London, UK. For Anastassia, the draw of clay lies in its innate ability to connect us to our unconscious and to past experiences of touch. Drawing from lived experience, she explores themes of home, grief, and gender, while maintaining craftsmanship as a core tenet of her practice. Her work has been exhibited widely in the UK and internationally, held in several private collections and she is currently undertaking a residency at Revue Studios in London. I Do & I Undo open on Thursday 8th October – Saturday 31st October, with the private view on Thursday 8th October from 6 – 8pm.