Ambrosine Allen; Scorched Earth
Forthcoming exhibition
Overview
Scorched Earth presents a new series of paper collages by Ambrosine Allen, created from fragments cut from discarded books and encyclopaedias. The introduction of colour into these works has expanded Allen’s source material to include images drawn from encyclopaedic reproductions of Medieval and Renaissance art, many of which carry religious or symbolic significance. Traces of these narratives emerge within the finished compositions, where stories of place, belief and memory begin to surface through the chaotic imagery.
Through a meticulous process of cutting, layering and reconstruction, Allen creates landscapes engulfed by fire, smoke and elemental upheaval. Both fantastical and unsettling, these works depict a world on the brink of collapse: forests burn, horizons glow, and the earth itself appears consumed by forces beyond human control.
Drawing on the visual language of historical engravings, Allen reimagines inherited systems of knowledge as visions of ecological crisis and transformation. In Scorched Earth, the remnants of the past are reassembled into haunting landscapes that reflect on humanity’s enduring relationship with belief, nature and destruction.
Through a meticulous process of cutting, layering and reconstruction, Allen creates landscapes engulfed by fire, smoke and elemental upheaval. Both fantastical and unsettling, these works depict a world on the brink of collapse: forests burn, horizons glow, and the earth itself appears consumed by forces beyond human control.
Drawing on the visual language of historical engravings, Allen reimagines inherited systems of knowledge as visions of ecological crisis and transformation. In Scorched Earth, the remnants of the past are reassembled into haunting landscapes that reflect on humanity’s enduring relationship with belief, nature and destruction.