The God of Small Things, 54 The Gallery, 29 January to 3 February, 2024

In a hidden area of Mayfair, filled with pubs, galleries, boutique shops and small restaurants lies Shepherds Market.

And at the heart of Shepherds Market lies 54 The Gallery. A small unpretentious gallery and the location of the exhibition The God of Small Things.

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The exhibition was curated by Week 45 Women’s Art Collective. Founded in 2023, the collective supports and promotes women artists, allowing their work to shine, not to complete. 

‘We embrace the rhetoric of the dominant centre and we spit it back’ says Penny Woolfall, founder of Week 45, ‘personally I think that gives us a stronger position creatively, after all who wants to swim in a stagnant pond?’

Intimate and delicate, the exhibition offered a glimpse into sentimentality, memory and private worlds through memento mori. Penny was inspired by domestic items, which retain a soul. ‘The idea of capturing the essence of a person is quite profound, especially for Women who work with or create artefacts as many Week 45 Artists do. I felt the idea was broad enough to encompass most disciplines and what poignant pieces we have had submitted! I’ve been blown away.’

Exhibiting 18 female artists, The God of Small Things championed a broad range of disciplines, from ceramic to painting, embroidery to print. The show was a treasure trove of beautiful and diverse creations. 

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Sally Broadbent’s life-size cyanotype ‘Mother’, 2023 stands centre stage as you enter the gallery. Half of a light installation by the same name, this striking panel captures ancient archetypal symbols in a contemporary context. Eagles for freedom and strength, the moon for mothering and fertility, a snake for the creative life force. The archetypes evoke a subconscious feeling of knowing and connection, of stories that are a part of you but perhaps belong to another time.

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Images of forgotten women from found 19th century photographs have been carefully stitched into laced handkerchiefs in Juliet Lockhart’s work. The delicate needlework, also photographic, emphasises the care that Juliet has taken to bring the memory of these women back to life. 

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Amanda Horwood’s two haunting paintings instil a disquiet in the viewer. There is something elusive and worrying in the expressions of the people painted that stands in contrast to the bright, joyful colours used in her work. 

The paint is thick and glossy in places, deep hot red and cool leafy turquoises inspired by Indian summers, and scraped so thin in others that the canvas is merely stained. It is within these scraped areas that the faces stare ghostly back at you, filled with sadness and forgotten moments. 

‘Al Fresco’ speaks of the finite nature of family dinners, as family comes and goes, as we age and die. Togetherness can feel so deeply special while at the same time ordinary but should never be taken for granted.

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The supportive community Penny has created through word of mouth is testament to the care and consideration Week 45 puts into each exhibition and each artist and is apparent as soon as you walk through the doors. 

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Amanda Horwood is one of Chorus Arts Featured Artists 23/24. 

To view more of Amanda’s work and check out the other Featured Artists, please visit our online exhibition

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Week 45’s next exhibition is Persephone Rising: The Joy of Spring will be at 54 The Gallery, 11 March to 15 March, 2024.