Joanne Leonard - Vintage Photographs and Early Collages

HackelBury proudly presents the first UK solo exhibition by acclaimed artist, Joanne Leonard. Vintage Photographs and Early Collages features photographs from the 1960s and 1970s and unique early collage pieces from the 1970s and 1980s. This retrospective offers an intimate look into Leonard’s artistic evolution and her innovative approach to visual storytelling.
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Known for her evocative and deeply personal imagery, which she describes as ‘intimate documentary,’ Leonard’s work from this era captures a profound sense of time and place. Blending documentary photography with poetic, dreamlike compositions, she draws inspiration from intimate family scenes, the realities of motherhood, and the political and social unrest of the time. The works on display offer an unfiltered glimpse into life as she experienced it. Her early collages, incorporating found imagery, handwritten text, and layered textures, reflect an experimental approach which challenges conventional artistic boundaries.

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“I’m much inspired by looking at medieval works - particularly diptychs and triptychs – these forms are sometimes hinged and have doors that fold over the artwork – then open to reveal the imagery inside…. a suggestion of time and story unfolding."

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