Forbidden Territories by Hanna Dhaimish
When André Breton said ‘It is living and ceasing to live which are imaginary solutions. Existence is elsewhere,’ he was claiming that both life and death are social constructs - mere illusions or ‘imaginary solutions’ that we use to make sense of our existence. He believed that true consciousness and authentic experience exists beyond the mundane and our socially fabricated realities. Forbidden Territories: 100 Years of Surrealist Landscapes offers us a glimpse into this alternate realm. The exhibition, currently on at The Hepworth Wakefield, marks 100 years since the beginnings of Surrealism and the publication of Breton’s manifesto in 1924. The show is the first of its kind in the UK to examine the role of landscape in Surrealism and explores the notion of dream states, altered perceptions and the space that exists between different levels of consciousness.
Nicolas Party, Landscape, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and The Modern Institute / Webster Hamilton Ltd., Glasgow. Photo: Adam Reich
The show’s opening movement, ‘Landscapes of the Mind’, sees Swiss contemporary artist, Nicolas Party (born 1980), and original member of the Paris Surrealist group, Yves Tanguy (1900 - 1955), explore the hauntings of childhood and the landscapes of their birthplaces. German Dadaist, Max Ernst’s (1891 - 1976) frottage technique (the rubbing of a textured surface using drawing materials) is evident amongst the mechanical trees oppressing the skyline in The Forest (1927 - 28), the first of over 80 works that Ernst created regarding this theme. We have a Picasso in this room too which almost feels incidental, hung wondrously from a vibrant printed curtain designed by Yorkshire based artist, Aliyah Hussain (born 1986).
Wael Shawky, "The Gulf Project Camp: Sculpture # 1 ", 2019. © Wael Shawky. Courtesy Lisson Gallery
‘Contested Terrains’ takes a darker turn, exploring the trauma experienced in relation to war and political unrest. Surrealism is often seen as a direct reaction to the First World War by the artists who pioneered it, rejecting the realities of a world which has caused such mass pain and suffering. Egypt is a reoccurring theme here, featuring evocative and symbolic shots by the American photojournalist, Lee Miller, and fantastical sculptures and paintings by Egyptian multimedia artist, Wael Shawky. Miller and Shawky are speaking from the same parapet here - Miller offers a literal visualisation of the Egyptian landscape lying in the shadow of the pyramids, while Shawky speaks to the complex histories and sociopolitical realities of the region. We see the duality of Egypt - its timeless, iconic status as a cradle of civilisation juxtaposed against the very real turmoil that has plagued the country throughout its modern history. Although Freud rears his head throughout this exhibition, he is most present in this room, perhaps in the quiet violence of Spanish Surrealist Salvador Dalí’s (1904 - 1989) Mountain Lake (1938). Freud believed that dreams are a window into the unconscious, and influenced by this notion, Dalí developed his paranoiac-critical method, which involved ‘invoking a paranoid state’ and creating artworks.
Salvador Dalí, Mountain Lake, 1938. © Salvador Dali, Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, DACS 2024
The show pays homage to current and past women of the movement, which is well known as somewhat of a boy’s club. A dedicated section to Mary Wykeham (1909 - 1996), who has in the past been underrepresented in histories of the Surrealist canon, explores her life trajectory from peer of Picasso and Joan Miró to holy sister, where she renounced her artistic career and moved to France to become a nun in 1950. Through her etchings, linocuts, and watercolours, Wykeham used Surrealism as a conduit to explore the ‘divine chaos’ of religious themes. Her swirling arrangements of line and haunting handwritten ‘songs’ suggest a longing to breach the veil between the material and the ethereal.
Mary Wykeham, Dream – Desert, 1979. © Judith Wykeham / Wakefield Permanent Art Collection (The Hepworth Wakefield)
‘Bodies of Water’ is the vehicle for discussing sexual and gender identities, including works by insiders of the Surrealist movement, Ithell Colquhoun (1906 - 1988) and Eileen Agar (1899 - 1991), as well as women who never officially joined the movement like and Derby born, Marion Adnams (1898 - 1995). Adnams worked full time as an art teacher and balanced caring for her mother alongside her art practise, which she continued with until she became partially blind at the age of 70. Sculptures central to the room by Sunderland born, Ro Robertson (born 1984), are both fluid and abrasive. Contemporary artist, Maria Berrio (born 1982), offers striking Japanese paper and watercolour collages of women floating in vivid, dreamlike waters, with discarded clothing suggesting transformation and vulnerability. Her work draws inspiration from the concept of ‘solastalgia’ - the emotional distress caused by environmental changes - depicting women's inner landscapes that mirror the shifting, uncertain worlds around them.
María Berrío, Open Geometry, 2022 © María Berrío. Courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro. Photo: Bruce M White
'Biomorphic Natures' invites visitors to challenge preconceived notions about the boundaries between the natural world and the human form, evoking anatomic imagery through organic, biomorphic shapes. Side by side works by Grace Pailthorpe (1883 - 1971) and husband Reuben Mednikoff (1906 - 1972) exemplify the theme. Pailthorpe’s medical background as a surgeon likely fueled her fascination with anatomy, which manifests in the suggestive, phallic forms of her paintings. Mednikoff's piece features yonic shapes reminiscent of flowers and foliage. This room has a cohesive thematic focus, but it also feels like a thoughtful curation of works that may not have fit neatly into the other exhibition spaces. The result is a rich, eclectic mix that rewards close attention.
Grace Pailthorpe, Composition (April 22), 1940. The Sherwin Family Collection permanently housed at The Hepworth Wakefield. Photo: Anya Fiáine-Fox
In many ways, Breton’s belief that ‘true consciousness and authentic experience exists beyond the mundane and our socially fabricated realities’ resonates even more powerfully in our modern landscape. We are living in a Surrealist world, where the boundaries between the physical and digital realms have become increasingly blurred. We watch people suffering on our smartphones and feel slighted by the fact that someone we haven't seen in 13 years is getting married. We are losing touch with physical landscapes and instead navigating the infinite scroll, our memories increasingly populated by the ephemeral, two-dimensional stimuli of the digital space. Where the original Surrealists used their craft to work through the turmoil of war and hardship, we now find ourselves internalising and absorbing these new forms of disconnection, without truly existing within them. Breton's call to transcend the 'imaginary solutions’ of our constructed realities has taken on new resonance in this era of rapid technological and social change. The Surrealist impulse to challenge perceived boundaries and access deeper truths remains as vital as ever.
https://hepworthwakefield.org/whats-on/forbidden-territories-100-years-of-surreal-landscapes/ 23 Nov 2024 - 21 April 2025