EXHIBITION: An Ecology of Mind at Bethlem Gallery
An Ecology of Mind at Bethlem Gallery, brings together four artists with an interest in the complex relationships connecting art, ecology and health, and the melding of inner and outer ‘natures’ inspired by the grounds of Bethlem Royal Hospital.
Lateisha Davine Lovelace-Hanson, Philip Deed, Aidan Moesby and Ronnie all respond to the natural environment of the hospital’s grounds to present works in film, collage, photography, and installation, using nature as a resource, as provider of material, and enabler of relationships.
Walking the grounds of Bethlem Royal Hospital as a form of research to develop ideas for her commission, artist Lateisha Davine Lovelace-Hanson presents an installation mapping out sound and video, wall and poetry texts, and objects exploring feminist perspectives on healing and ecology.
Referencing inner states of mind, Philip Deed’s artwork presents six abstract collages in small diorama style frames and a large-scale print on the gallery wall.
Reflecting on global and individual physical and emotional states, Aidan Moesby’s Blanket Coverage is an installation of three blankets – fire, survival and comfort – presented in red, purple and green tubes that draws subtle parallels between climate change in the over-heating of the world.
Ronnie will be showing Flora/Structure, a series of four pairings of C-type photographic prints that contrast architectural details from buildings in the grounds of the Royal Bethlem Hospital with close-ups images of flowers and plants taken while he was a resident there.
The site of Bethlem Gallery and Bethlem Royal Hospital reflects changes in attitudes at the turn of the last century, when gardens and parks began to be an integral part of treatment for mental and physical health.
Bethlem Royal Hospital moved out of central London at this time, in line with new thinking about the influence of the environment on what is now called well-being.
Hospital residents were given access to nature, fresh air, and therapeutic activity.
During An Ecology of Mind, there will be a series of public workshops reimagining the Hospital grounds as a cultural and natural ‘commons’.
Installation view of work by Lateisha Davine Lovelace-Hanson Picture: Bethlem Gallery – An Ecology of Mind, 2022
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