Little Lights

In collaboration with Tin Man Art, Paul Smith Space presents ‘little lights’, curated by Nico Kos Earle.

Inspired by the poetry of the late astronomer Rebecca Elson, this group exhibition pays homage to the little ways we guard our imaginative hearts, sparking new desires and glimmers of hope through the darkest of nights. Opening for Valentine’s Day, the works in this show (paintings, collage, photography, sculpture and ceramics) were selected in wonderment, for how they spark feelings of joy, desire or cede to a kind of dream state, not unlike sitting together around a fire, lost in the flickering light. The visual arts are, in essence, about light and perception. The colours we see and impressions we retain, are brought to life by our beautiful star, and we try to hold off the night with an increasing velocity of technological innovation. All of us now carry ‘little lights’ in our pockets – we have become afraid of the dark and have forgotten how to dream. But we still have artists; alive to the world, imaginatively processing every impression, who “go out dark nights, searching/ For the dimmest stars,/ For signs of unseen things” (Rebecca Elson). little lights’ is an opportunity to reflect on the regenerative potential of creativity, and how crucial it is to protect what we love. Nico Kos Earle