We are delighted to present Sarah Long’s solo exhibition of paintings How to Resist A State of Forgetfulness. The title refers to the essay in which art critic John Berger considers whether nature can be ‘read’ as a text or language through the process of drawing and engagement. He further reflects on whether the uncovering of this natural mother-tongue might help us to resist the ‘historic amnesia’ of the modern era. Inspired by these ideals, Long’s new body of work delves into the relationship between language and the landscape, combining painting, drawing and mark-making to create intriguing works that both examine and play with natural forms.

Sarah Long’s art practice is concerned with the idea of the landscape as a receptacle of human ideas, a place where nature and allegory are intrinsically intertwined and she examines how Irish history and literature has influenced the collective perspective of the landscape. Informed by Irish poets, myths and stories, Long explores these ideas primarily through painting, drawing, sculpture and art writing. There is a strong emphasis on the human mark in her process and mediums, and the play between the human mark and patterns found in nature is often accompanied by artificial materials such as glitter, stencils and spray paint. Sometimes figurative, sometimes abstract, the landscape holds a captivating and flexible inspiration where she creates a world that is both fantastical and familiar.

Sarah Long is a graduate of Crawford College of Art & Design. Currently, she is a member of Sample Studios and in September 2021 she will begin an MLitt in Art Writing at Glasgow School of Art. Her work is in the OPW collection.