Cathy Watkins

Don’t Look Now

12th April - 9th May 2008

Deconstructing the iconography of our childhoods, Cathy Watkins explore the contents of Woolworth’s department store and the Disney output, rendering the familiar as strange and challenging. Her cast of characters are playfully co-opted to subvert/dislodge the established topography of our collective and personal memory banks. Sweet becomes, sinister, little becomes large and established values are (literally or otherwise) turned over or displaced.

The freedom and eclecticism of Watkins’ use of language subverts the cosy comfort of time-honoured narratives. Careful analytical drawing exists in tandem with an expressive abandonment to the particular qualities of paint and other materials used.

This anarchic and multi faceted engagement with her subject surprises, revealing the inconsistencies prevalent in the playroom and beyond.