Bowman Sculpture is presenting Subconscious Playground, the debut solo exhibition of British contemporary sculptor Joanna Allen, marking an exciting new voice in three-dimensional art. From 1–30 May 2025, Allen’s psychologically charged forms will transform the Mayfair gallery at 6 Duke Street, St James’s, into an exploration of materiality and memory.
Subconscious Playground explores human psychology, offering an alternative reality that strips away the illusion of normalcy to reveal a more complex, sometimes dark, yet playful perspective on our subconscious. Joanna Allen’s exhibition at Bowman Sculpture is particularly timely, as it comes just after the Centenary of Surrealism in 2024, a century since André Breton wrote the Manifeste du Surréalisme.
Allen is an innovative and exciting contemporary Surrealist whose work seamlessly moves between figuration and abstraction, culminating in fully abstract pieces that reflect the shifting boundaries between our conscious and unconscious minds. Through her sculptural practice, she examines the tension between intellectual aptitude and primal instinct and the way personal and inherited experiences shape individual identity.
The exhibition includes works that visually dissect these themes. In some earlier pieces like Shadow and Horizon, she employs striking imagery, such as part of an adult skull posed as a child’s helmet and an eye-level plane of solid bronze through a floating head. These works explore the intrinsic nature of our learned and inherited psychology. Shadow, in particular, is deeply personal, emerging from Allen’s childhood memories.
The piece reflects her feeling insubstantial both in the presence of adults and within herself. During these times, her imagination offered a refuge—an expansive, safe space for creativity and development. The skull on the child’s head symbolises psychological armour and the contrast between vulnerability and the mind’s ability to construct an internal refuge.
Pieces such as Monument and Diminishing Capacity convey a similar theme by distorting figures in ways that suggest our experiences permanently and generationally shape us. Allen’s powerful work exists somewhere between Symbolism and Surrealism, balancing deeply personal narratives with broader, universal themes of psychological introspection.
In her abstract sculptures, such as Inherent, Allen pursues a purer representation, visually and metaphorically turning bodies inside out to openly reveal the nature of our psychological imprints. Through all these explorations, she poses the question, “What is normal?” and intriguingly suggests that deviation from this so-called norm is, in fact, what constitutes normalcy.
Joanna Allen’s signature sculptural language incorporates recurring motifs such as distorted forms, floating ovoid or egg-like heads, and dissecting planes. While her abstract works move beyond literal representation, they retain a figurative presence, reminding us that we are ultimately confronting the complexities of the human psyche. The play between fluid, buoyant forms and harsher, jagged elements underscores the duality within the self. The materials she employs—patinated bronze, bold ink lines, and layered brush strokes—enhance her practice’s dreamlike and surrealist quality, evoking both ancient and futuristic aesthetics.
A key element of Allen’s process is her use of mindful meditation to access the subconscious. Through blindfolded, one-stroke drawing sessions, she develops psychomorphs—shapes that often take on personal or archetypal significance. Whether these forms function as a Rorschach-like reflection of the mind or emerge from deeper psychological imprints remains an open question. Her engagement with the subconscious places her work in conversation with the legacy of Surrealism, a movement historically dedicated to uncovering the hidden depths of human thought.
The exhibition catalogue will include a forward by Dr Jon Wood, the art historian and curator specialising in modern and contemporary sculpture. Formerly Head of Research at the Henry Moore Institute, Wood has written extensively on major sculptors, including Henry Moore, Tony Cragg, and Emily Young, and has curated significant exhibitions internationally. His insights will provide context to Allen’s exploration of the psychological and sculptural interplay between form, abstraction, and meaning.
Mica Bowman, Director of Bowman Sculpture Gallery, remarks, “We live in a time where the surreal is no longer confined to art—it is woven into our daily experience, shaping how we perceive and engage with the world. Joanna Allen takes this concept further, not just reflecting the surrealist aesthetic surrounding us but pulling us deeper into the subconscious, where reality is deconstructed and reimagined. Her work does not just depict an alternative perspective; it forces us to question the layers of perception we take for granted.”
Subconscious Playground will be open to the public from 1st May to 30th May 2025 at Bowman Sculpture Gallery, 6 Duke Street, St James’s, London. For further information, visit bowmansculpture.com or contact the gallery at +44 (0)20 7930 0277.
Joanna Allen is an emerging British sculptor who bridges psychologically charged figurations with abstract representations of the inner self. With a background in academic training and atelier practices, she has exhibited in various prestigious venues, including the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona and the Royal Society of British Artists in London. Her sculptures are held in private collections and institutions across the UK, Europe, and the USA. More information can be found at https://www.joannamallen.com/
Bowman Sculpture Presents “Subconscious Playground”: The Debut Solo Exhibition by Emerging British Sculptor Joanna Allen London, 1 to 30th May, 2025 6 Duke Street, St. James’s, London SW1Y 6BN