Helen Knight’s ambitious installation, News from the Invisible World, was built onsite over several weeks during our winter period in 2018. Towards this end point, Helen had received support and mentoring since she was shortlisted for our 2017 installation call out, with a view to her fulfilling the 2018 slot.

Using pages recycled from old paper-back books and mud extracted from the harbour in Watchet, Helen built a monumental chrysalis within a twisted facsimile of our gallery—literally distorting the internal exhibition space off-kilter.Painstakingly rendered in the same materials that line the gallery; floor to ceiling—it referenced the gallery’s history and future transformation. Audiences were invited to walk through the angled space to explore the form inside.

Alongside this installation, we hosted a small exhibition of frames and other furnishings that the artist had made throughout her career— many on loan from a private collection. Artworks by significant contemporary artists, including Cornelia Parker OBE RA, Gilbert and George, Fiona Banner, and Richard Long CBE RA, among others, were on display in frames made by the artist (from materials as diverse as old wasp nests and rusted metal).

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