This summer, Lowood arts presents eden elegy: John Darwell, Katrin Joost, John Kippin, Callum Latimer, Nicola Neate, Helen Petts, Roger Polley, John Woodman. The exhibition explores our understanding of place through the work of 8 highly acclaimed artist filmmaker/photographer’s. It has been curated to celebrate the return of Lowood arts, with new, exciting exhibition space. 

Eden elegy consists of work never seen in Cumbria before by artists widely recognised for their incredible contribution to the British arts scene over many decades. This is a unique opportunity to experience their work in Cumbria in a rural location.

John Darwell, John Woodman and Roger Polley return to our walls with work of depth and knowledge, John Darwell brings a powerful series of new work’s ‘Aves” , We are so delighted to be bringing these extraordinary photographs to the public for the first time; John Woodman’s award winning films ‘First Light’ and ‘November morning’ return home to Cumbria, to be seen for the first time after touring the world and winning film awards in far off places like Germany and Japan. It is inconceivable that they have not been seen here, and we are delighted to have the venue for their home premiere; Roger Polley and John Woodman’s collaborative working practice of 50 years is once again on the Lowood wall after 20 years away. Their inclusion in eden elegy is to celebrate a thirty-year working relationship and welcome a collection of this practice into our archive, which will be revealed in 2027. It's a joy to experience their work again in Cumbria. Artist film-maker Helen Petts comes to Lowood arts for the first time with “Space & Freedom.”  A gallery installation moving image work commissioned by Manchester City Art Gallery to explore the relationship between Li Yuan Chia and the Cumbrian Landscape. Li’s work was on our walls in 2007, and it's an honour to be celebrating his achievements again, almost 20 years later, through the lens of Helen's beautiful film. John Kippin and Nicola Neate also exhibit at Lowood for the first time, with their collaborative work “In this Day and Age” on loan from the Northern gallery of Contemporary art, Lowood arts is privileged to present this work to a Cumbrian audience for the first time, both artists have a long and established artistic relationship with Cumbria and we cannot wait to see this piece in the gallery. Katrin Joost is an international artist who has chosen to make her home in Our Valley, and it is an honour to show ‘Zeitfluss- River of Time 'so close to her new home, about her relationship with the home of her origin and youth. Finally, Callum Latimer, Lowood arts artist/film-maker/Curator shows his award-winning film ‘Breathing” for the first time in Cumbria. This work, commissioned in 2020, is in part a response to a work by the late Lowood arts artist, Conrad Atkinson and his Vinyl audio work exhibited in New York in the 1980’s. ‘Breathing’ explores the transience of place as murmurations of starlings gather before they migrate to Russia at an abandoned Royal Air Force base which defended us from the soviet union. 

This is a small, neat, exceptionally powerful display of work. 

The first of 4 exhibitions over 2 years, which explore Lowood arts as much as they explore the artists, location and the community Lowood arts will be a part of. Creating a unique opportunity for the viewer to see themselves through the eyes of some incredibly talented individuals. 

Contemporary Artist photographer/ Film-maker’s have a gift of making something that at first looks like nothing look like something we should have noticed. That this work is being created and shown in a rural location explores the experience we have with the work and what we bring of ourselves to the experience. Place is defined by memory and imagination, and eden elegy will expose tensions between the viewer, the gallery and the artist, which will reveal things about us we didn’t know. If you let yourself see through the lens of these artists eden elegy might just quietly shake you to the foundations upon which you stand.