Pieces of Mind
Jackal, Berwick-upon-Tweed, 2026
Artists
Abigail Thomas, Ania Ready, Cathy Greenhalgh, Jessica Kennersley, Katy Williamson, Lesley Finn, Mills and Nat Loftus.
About the exhibition
Pieces of Mind brought together eight contemporary artists to explore the breadth and versatility of collage as a medium.
Collage is often misunderstood or reduced to a single aesthetic, yet it encompasses an extraordinary range of approaches and ideas. Through this exhibition I wanted to challenge those assumptions by presenting artists whose practices demonstrated just how varied collage can be.
Rather than presenting collage as a single style, Pieces of Mind invited visitors to experience it as a way of thinking.
The exhibition included analogue and digital collage, photography, textiles, installation, found imagery and artists working with their own photographs and materials. Some of the work explored politics and class, while other pieces reflected on memory, identity, grief and mental health.
Although each artist approached collage differently, together they demonstrated its unique ability to question, reconstruct and reimagine the world around us.
Public programme
The exhibition was accompanied by a programme of workshops and collaborative activities designed to encourage visitors to experience collage as something they could actively engage with rather than simply observe.
Cathy Greenhalgh led a workshop exploring storytelling and world-building through collage, while Nat Loftus invited visitors to create their own “ghosts” using vintage photographs, fabric and found materials.
Throughout the exhibition visitors also contributed to a collaborative Exquisite Corpse. Participants created individual heads, torsos or legs, which were later combined into entirely new figures. In total, 78 individual sections were created, resulting in 26 collaborative collages, which were displayed in Jackal’s window following the exhibition.
Outcome
Pieces of Mind became Jackal’s most visited exhibition to date and generated conversations around subjects including mental health, class, memory and loss. Many visitors commented that the exhibition had completely changed their understanding of collage and left feeling inspired to experiment with the medium themselves.
Following its success, Pieces of Mind is now being developed as a touring exhibition.