Spike Island Place Portrait

Ofelia RodrÍguez, Solo Exhibition

Spike Island presents a major monographic exhibition by Colombian artist Ofelia Rodríguez. This extensive exhibition brings together a selection of over fifty paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures made over the past five decades.

Influenced by memories of her native Barranquilla, on the Caribbean coast of Colombia, Rodríguez combines found objects and images rich in symbolism to construct humorous yet critical works that examine cultural identity and gender stereotypes.

Anna Haydock-Wilson with Caitlin Dawkes, Holly Humphries, Ryan Convery-Moroney and Tsipora St. Clair Knights, Place Portrait

A new Engagement commission by Anna Haydock-Wilson, developed over the past year in collaboration with Creative Youth Network alumni.

Place Portrait is a multimedia installation that examines the complexity of a specific area, as well as how people experience and perceive different places. The work explores Spike Island’s neighbourhood and includes interviews with local characters (both human and more-than-human), ambient sound, still and moving images, and found, reused and newly created materials.

Central to the commission is an installation consisting of a wooden structure that evokes the masts, cranes and scaffolding that dominate Spike Island’s skyline. This structure fosters a sense of curiosity and exploration, and is surrounded by photographic portraits with QR codes linking to video portraits. Finally, an audio work of recordings taken in and around Spike Island completes the installation. The work invites us to connect with our locality and to re-think our neighbourhoods.