Footsteps in the Dark
a per-zine of whispered secretsColouring Outside the Lines: the exhibition. Selecting the work
RK: When we were selecting work I think we both had an unspoken idea of what we wanted to display. Although we still had discussions about some artists we liked but eventually decided were working in more conventional ways than was appropriate here. We decided to concentrate on artists based in the UK both to support home grown artists and to simplify exhibition organisation. I think, however, this decision has also helped us discover the wealth of local talent available on our doorstep – which just goes to show great art is everywhere. I think that the curatorial policy is different in the zine than to the gallery. Here we’ve had to focus more on how the work sits together in a room, so we’ve tried to balance the more detailed intricate work with pieces on a larger scale, which is not necessarily a consideration for the zine. We’ve also included more ‘fine artists’ who may have exhibited before and may have had a more conventional root into art but who are also doing challenging and important work.
RK: I think there is real strength in the fact that these women are from different generations and that they have different amounts of status by conventional artistic criteria. We’ve got young students exhibiting alongside well established Artists and I hope we’ve created a space where both of these positions are respected and appreciated. I think this approach also reflects how we’ve worked together on the project, we’ve got you and me Melanie, who have literally never done this before and we’re working alongside Caroline, who has years of experience as a curator, and yet we’ve somehow managed to create a space where we’re all respected and we’re utilising each others specialities, without falling back into a constant hierarchies of experience or education or age.
RK: The work is united to some extent through reoccurring explorations of mythologies, fairytale, discovery and surprise. When you see Morwenna’s work next to Naseem’s it shows that although the artists methods and subject matter may be similar, the intentions and outcomes are radically different, that’s something I really like.
‘Art is as vital to my life as love or oxygen or food, and I think when you look at the kind of images that children make, it becomes evident that it is for everyone… until someone along the way, family, teacher, friends, culture tells you that it’s an indulgence, a hobby’. Sarah Utter (in COTL zine)
RK: Each artist has a different reason for engaging with this subject, but for me I’m drawn to art that explores fairytales partly because it engages with a world where anything can happen and somewhere fears and anxieties can be explored. Its also due to a wish to re-engage with my childlike imagination and creativity. 
