Angletwich, 2020
Brighton CCA
Commissioned by Brighton CCA, Brooks presented a suite of paintings within a sculptural installation, weaving together a semi autobiographical narrative of queer and trans experience in rural South West England where he grew up, and in particular its marginalised spaces and communities. These new works centred on a series of rural archetypes; from the livestock fair and the post office, to a lonely bus stop, generating a simultaneous sense of familiarity and isolation.
The title of the show, Angletwich, took its name from a Devonshire dialect term for a worm used in fishing bait, but has evolved to describe a fast moving creature or child. It spoke to the frenetic layering of people and activity within the works as well as recurrent motifs of migration and the makeshift.
Each work in the exhibition was part of a wider whole; depicting characters, scenes and places which together developed a critical narrative of place and queer experience in Britain. The installation mirrored the environments found within the work, creating a dramatic context to more closely connect the world of Brooks' painting with the experience of encountering them.
The Daily Winds Tourist Information Centre
In the North Gallery was the Daily Winds Tourist Office. Over the summer, Brooks and Programme Producer Polly Wright invited a group to share thoughts and experiences of the rural, through Daily Winds, a bi monthly community newsletter. These conversations and contributions came together within a fictionalized tourist office presenting artworks and ephemera, distributing information, and hosting socially distanced events.
The space and public programme offered visitors the opportunity to both explore their own perception of the rural and the locality of Brighton, as well as encounter alternative understandings of rural life via talks, workshops, texts, films and performance.
Photos by Rob Harris