Art - Thebes Gallery

Artists Jenni Gregory and Alison Stringell are putting on a follow-up to the show they did in October 2005 in the Thebes, ‘Intimate Journeys’, with an exhibition called ‘Intimate Journeys Too!’. I ring Jenni at her house in London and ask her whether the sequel is likely to differ significantly from the original. “I’m really excited about it,” she says, battling with a mobile phone which keeps going off, which she eventually hides under a cushion. “Both of our work has really taken off this year. We went to Thailand in the summer, and a lot of that experience has rubbed off into our work. This will be a very colourful exhibition.”

Jenni does ‘ceramic wall hangings with Mexican and Gaudiesque imagery’. “Actually it’s a kind of Hindi-Mexican fusion,” she says. “There are flat reliefs in bright glazed luscious colours. Faces and flowers and religious motifs. Then there are 3D elements with buttons and found objects and suchlike.” She tells me about Alison’s work. “She does boxes out of objects trouves,” she says. “She also does shoes and Wellingtons out of printed paper. Using pages from children’s books. She’s made some Converse trainers and underwear out of paper, too.” “It’s a funny time to do a show,” she concludes, as the phone rings again, more muffled this time. “But an interesting time, too. The artworks are very quirky, and would make great presents.” Sounds like a refreshing antidote to all that glitter and tinsel. AG