Lucy Jones: Strange Times

Flowers Gallery presents an exhibition of recent work by Lucy Jones produced over the previous three years, from the beginning of the pandemic to the present day.

Ranging from unsettling new perspectives on once familiar landscapes to the investigation of self during a continuing period of global upheaval, Strange Times presents an engaging personal response to living with an uncertain future.

The titles of the landscape paintings, such as The Beginning of the Beginning suggest a shift in Jones’s outlook while working closer to home in Shropshire during lockdown. In 2 Metres Apart, the title and corresponding position of two bushes in the landscape reflect a sense of altered spatial awareness, as measurement and distance became a shared aspect of daily life. Following the lifting of travel restrictions, Jones went on search of new locations to paint, for example, producing Will it Rain Today in mid-Wales. Overcoming the challenges of physical disabilities, Jones paints on the ground, therefore seeking elusive vantage points from gaps in hedgerows, remaining close to her car by the side of the road. The connection between viewpoint and access highlights boundaries to the embodied experience of landscape, both seen and unseen. In these paintings the muted tones of distant hills and brooding skies are enlivened with flashes of luminous colour, revealing the prevailing spirit and endurance of nature.