The sociologist John Bellamy Foster coined the term ‘metabolic rift’ in reference to the Marxist characterisation of the disruption of the natural cycle of exchange between human society and the environment.

A conversation about the shifting relationship between humans and nature began at a recent visit to Vicky Wright’s studio, where the artist drew attention to the metabolic rift she was accessing in her painting. A discussion emerged about this delicate network of interconnectivity, a relationship which has formed against the background of the Anthropocene- our current geological period, defined by humanity’s impact- where human action has forced destruction and development alike onto our surroundings. The conversation conjured a vision of dark and hopeful mutations- dreams and distortions spurred by ecological crisis. Like algae that can break down plastic, and interspecies kinships which can mitigate against loss, potential roles for nature as a saviour of humankind, rather than its victim, emerged. This crystallised into the idea of the hybrid: futuristic versions of contortion and growth. When cast over this selection of new work by gallery artists and new contributors to our program, this hybridity offers a way of looking at each work's individual transformations and points of tension.

“In this fragmented garden, the flora sings. Not in words, but in data, in color, in mutation”, notes Wright. Her works bloom or collapse into their centre points: botanical and structural forms are layered to allow strange anthropomorphic figures and plants to emerge. Their sweeping sheer brushstrokes loop into one another to form central starbursts of petals, wings and shoots. They are natural forms as if remembered in a dream.

The natural world is vested with a rich and autonomous spirituality in the practices of Rember Yahuarcani and Rae-Yen Song. Their works are coloured by the weight of familial histories and traditional mythmaking. Gareth Cadwallader’s green landscape is scattered with his father’s ashes. Alive with his memory, the outlines of the distant fields, hedges and hills are pulled taut under the artist’s brushstrokes. Belén Rodríguez has assumed the role of conservator of the woodland that surrounds her home and studio in Northern Spain- her commitment to its protection informs her practice. Rodríguez and Rebecca Manson both explore metamorphosis in their respective ceramic, textile and photographic renderings of wings. These collective visions can begin to fill the rift.