Nelson & Woodward

The work of artist duo Annie Nelson and Chris Woodward strives to offer an alternative to a fast paced society, interrogating our perpetual desire for quick fixes and fast solutions. Through an interest in our environment, how it has been shaped both physically and socially, they explore the stories of people and places. The resulting work is multi-disciplinary, utilising a variety of materials, graphics and hand craft to realise imagery, sculpture, installation and intervention. The duo considers the role of the viewer as pro-active and important, devising the setting of the work and designing the encounter. 

The commission for this space began with the donation of Gill and Mick’s collection of snowstorms. Their collection of snowstorms celebrates their travels together, and is their first collection as a couple. For us it is a collection that stands as a celebration of a potentially short period in history when travel was reasonably accessible and cheap. Although the internet now enables us to scour online for objects located all over the world, for many such as Gill and Mick the fun is in the discovering of the object in person, the joy of seeking and finding. The collection is testament to the lasting attraction of a souvenir small enough to fit in a suitcase and charming enough to look great on the mantelpiece.

As times change so do our concerns and the conversations we have as a society. Similar to many collections formed on Grand Tours, this snowstorm collection now also highlights other narratives; the mass production of objects predominantly produced in china then shipped across the globe and the impacts on global warming of people moving on mass via air travel.

With environmental concerns, the UK leaving the EU, and global pandemics we have already seen a shift in travel habits. It feels like this snowstorm collection represents a more carefree age when we could all aspire to travel internationally collecting experiences, stories and souvenirs along the way. Travel has undoubtedly become more precious, but what of collecting? We will have to look towards galleries, museums, social media, and the mantlepiece at home to see how collecting changes its habits.