'Allus Do It Fer Thissen' is a solo exhibition by James Owens that explores themes of resilience in the interplay between humans and nature. The title reflects a Yorkshire saying about self-sufficiency. Owens's paintings feature figures navigating dense landscapes, symbolizing survival, connection, and uncertainty. Nature is depicted as both a backdrop and an active participant, illustrating the relationship between growth and decay. Architectural elements and stage-like settings add layers to the narrative, enhancing the thematic focus on the tension between isolation and community amid environmental entanglements.
Owens depicts a world where nature becomes a language of survival, capturing the delicate tension between growth and decay, connection and isolation. This language echoes the myriad of figures' own quiet will to endure; the natural world becomes both collaborator and witness to their fragile acts of self-reliance.
In Owens's world, the natural and the human are not opposed, but entangled, each shaping the other in moments of subtle tension, care and survival.
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