HEAVEN – George Storm Fletcher

HEAVEN is a new solo presentation of works by Leeds based artist and alumni George Storm Fletcher at Hyde Park Book Club, curated by Sarah Roberts, Benedetta D’ettorre and George Storm Fletcher.

Funded by Leeds City Council through the Leeds Cultural Investment Programme, this new exhibition and film have been created by 2023 fine art alumni and current MA Fine Art student, George, in collaboration with 2019 fine art alumni Ronnie Danaher and George's Mum, Amanda.

In the exhibition and film, Fletcher documents an oral history of Leeds across two generations. This centres on a main road artery that runs through the student centre of Leeds – the infamous Kirkstall Road.

Initially Fletcher misunderstood their Mum and recounted the happenstance as occuring on Otley Road in LS6, home to Hyde Park Book Club; but as the tale unravels, the detail shifts and they rediscover the specifics of the story together on a journey in a new van, with fresh flowers.

At the heart of the research is Fletcher’s relationship with their Mum, Amanda. The film archives anecdotes as a point of connection, in a city that George lives in and their Mum grew up in.

The exhibition has been extended to 12 September to coincide with FAT BABY – this year’s MA Fine Art Degree Show at the University of Leeds – where Fletcher will be showcasing more of their work in a group and solo show.

About George Storm Fletcher

George Storm Fletcher is a performance artist and menace. Originally from Ely, in the fens of East Anglia, they have lived and worked in Leeds for six years. They are at their best when being outrageously queer, playful and heartfelt. In recent years, George’s work has manifested as a series of text-based architectural interventions, with an immediate, DIY aesthetic.

Having graduated with a BA Fine Art degree in 2022, George is currently undertaking a part-time MA in Fine Art at the University of Leeds and has shown extensively in the UK in a range of major institutions and artist-led spaces. They have undertaken residencies at the Barbican Arts Group Trust and Blauverschiebung festival, Galerie Kub, Leipzig.

Fletcher uses found objects, appropriating them for new compositions, with their distinctive lettering offering a new ‘voice’ for the object. Grounded in a sense of Britain’s shifting identity and blurred nostalgia, their work plays with informal expressions and slang, memory and storytelling, through a playful and empathic lens.

Venue

Hyde Park Book Club
27-29 Headingley Lane
Leeds LS6 1BL

More information

Find out more about HEAVEN and George Storm Fletcher in this news story.

Feature image

Courtesy of George Storm Fletcher and Ronnie Danaher.