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Wanderlust and Fantastic Oddities

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The exhibition runs from 2nd November 2019 – 21st December 2019.  Solo show at Millennium Court Arts Centre.

Come explore obscure and familiar collections from other lands.  The artist takes you on a road trip through America, and shows you collections objects from Japan, Norway, Iceland, Australia and more.  You can take part by divulging a dream story that could be performed on the night, or by surrendering an unwanted gift in her Re-Gift Amnesty.

Leech’s practice stems from a broad fascination with the world around her. Realised through: drawing; archives; digital imagery; interactive social practice; story; moving image; and installation. These allow the viewer to create their own narratives as they are brought through unusual rumors, local lore, historic or accurate happenings to moments of collective consciousness.
“I see my art practice as an adventure.  I’m an explorer presenting my discoveries. I select and create imagery that draws in the viewer through the familiar and the commonplace.”
The viewer will be presented with an amalgam of installations, minimalist drawing and make-shift collections. Stemming from a lifelong obsession with collecting, the subject matter combines influences from travel, social interactions, history, iconography, myths, legends and museum categorization. These are presented in humorous ways that entice the viewer to decipher connections and explore the multiple narratives set before them.
“She seems to have a knack for finding the bizarre and unique, sometimes under your very nose, in locations you pass by every day. There are moments when her work can make one feel, as Walker Percy would say, “sunk into our own everydayness.” This exchange is perhaps what is most compelling about Leech’s practice; it challenges the unexamined inheritances of our day-to day affairs.”  David Hawkins for Cville newspaper, USA, 2013.

A FREE bus will leave Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast at 6.45pm, and return at 9pm.

To take part in Leech’s dream story survey click here – https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/MPLWHX8

A selection of these will be performed on the opening night at 8pm.

Check out her Re-gift Amnesty events at Sustain Market collaborating with Sinéad Bhreathnach-Cashell.  Events on 17th November and 22nd December. https://www.facebook.com/events/406769466703464/

‘The Odd Collection’ exhibition at Pollen Studios

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7th February 2019

Cabinets of Curiosity, also known as ‘wonder rooms’ have displayed collections since at least the 1500’s. They have been used to categorise natural history objects, tell stories about the world and it’s history (sometimes not letting the truth get in the way of a good story) and served to establish a social ranking in society. The Odd Collection exhibition was inspired by the odd collection of favoured objects and the collection of odd objects that find their way into our homes and especially artists studios.

With invited artists, we will convert the Pollen Gallery into a ‘wonder room’, with a nod to the history of museum natural science collections and wink to the possibilities of undiscovered treasures.

Participating artists : Aimee Magee, Aisling Magee, Aisling O’Beirn, Alice Clark, Deirdre McKenna, Jayne Cherry, Jenny Davies, Johanna Leech, Kate Ritchie, Locky Morris, Nathan Crothers, Sharon Adams, SInéad Breathnach Cashell, Zara Lyness.

’24’ exhibition Dec 2014 at Golden Thread Gallery

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24                     4-19th December 2014, Curated by Sarah McAvera

Sinead Bhreathnach- Cashell, Charlotte Bosanquet, Stuart Calvin, Christopher J Campbell, Sheelagh Colclough, Mick Cullen, Leo Devlin, Sarah Faulkner, Ciara Finnegan, Graham Gingles, Gerry Gleason, Deirdre Hawthorne, Johanna Leech, Lisa Malone, Clement McAleer, Colin McGookin, Brain J Morrison, Geoff Molyenx, Hazel Neill, Brendan O’Neill, Robert Peters, Anne Quail, Duncan Ross & Katrina Sheena Smyth

24 aims to capture the excitement of opening an advent calendar: each door a miniature surprise. The twenty-four artists selected are an eclectic mix, not a combination you would necessarily expect. Video, drawing, painting, photography and installation are all represented, with themes ranging from the extraordinary to the minutiae of existence.

My piece ‘Do Not Touch Penguins’, chalk marker on window, Wade pottery whimsie