An exhibition of contemporary art inspired by Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows will display over 20 works from artists such as Stanley Donwood and Charlie Billingham. Tales from the Riverbank will bring together works from leading British-based contemporary artists, working in photography, ceramics, painting and drawing, that explore the iconography and themes that have made The Wind in the Willows such a celebrated and significant text.
Over one hundred years since its publication The Wind in the Willows has grown in stature as a masterpiece of literature and continues to inspire a range of multimedia adaptations and interpretations. The familiar story of Ratty and Mole’s precarious friendship with Toad, set in a recognisable yet other-worldly Britain with Edwardian-dressed animals boating on winding rivers and driving ‘motorcars’ down country lanes, has been cemented as a British classic.
An exhibition of contemporary art celebrating the complex undercurrents in Kenneth Grahame’s seminal work, ‘The Wind in the Willows’ features works by Charlie Billingham Stanley Donwood, Malene Hartmann Rasmussen, Gina Soden, Rupert Muldoon, Zach Toppin and Keaton Henson. With issues still pertinent today, such as the perils of technology in a rapidly advancing world, the comfort of nature and wildness, the destructive power of greed and privilege, as well as themes of illicit behaviour, uncontrolled obsession, forbidden love, incarceration and control has fascinated children and adults for 115 years.
The exhibition has been created by TIN MAN ART and is curated by its Director James Elwes, who says: “Deeply complex, this book celebrates nature, wildness and pagan gods while simultaneously expressing fear of these things. Each artist contributes their own chapter to this story; endowing it with diverse, personal perspectives and unique visualisations that show how important art is in understanding our evolving culture, psychology, politics and history.”
Tales from the Riverbank: 10 October - 15 October 2023, Cromwell Place, London
To book or to make enquiries please visit: www.tinmanart.com