Half-Bambi Half-Cow was my first solo presentation held by Wilton Way Gallery.

From the press sheet: Working exclusively with textiles in her practice as a methodology for image making, King experiments with various fibre manipulations in order to create animated films and still lifes. Techniques in this show include broomstick pleating, freehand quilting and embroidery on silk, as well as printed cut-out collage.

The exhibition features two film works alongside a series of embroidered silks and textile drawings. Made For Duty Overseas (2023) is a noir centred around a packet of menthol vogue cigarettes, in which the protagonist and narrator is intrigued by the allure of a mysterious woman and talk of political espionage. The film, created using cut-out animation style on a multiplane built by the artist, features an original 16 piece orchestral score by Oran Johnson.

Drawing influence from historical figures and artists such as Lorina Bulwer, Louise Bourgeois and Cindy Sherman, King's practice examines contemporary feminine identity and the tensions between what is aesthetically pleasing but morally suspect. As the artist notes of the woman she is examining across her work: "This has been an opportunity to imagine the female character I am fascinated with. She is not wholly Bambi or cow, but somewhere in that ironic gap in-between; she is 'Half-Bambi, Half-Cow.'"

The exhibition also includes works produced in collaboration with specialist framer Harriet Jones of Orlando Frames.

Press sheet