Leave Me Tender

Leave Me Tender is an exhibition by Don’t Be Shy, a collective trio of second year fine art students.

Through deeply personal and intimate subject matter, the artists confront themes of vulnerability, power and the body as both a site of both desire and anguish.

The works navigate layered experiences, moments of intimacy that feel both familiar and uneasy. They hint at closeness, discomfort and the ways meaning can shift depending on how something is seen or understood. Rather than explaining everything, the exhibition leaves space for uncertainty and personal interpretation.

Together, the collective examines how intimacy, whether physical, emotional or psychological, can be both tender and unsettling. Leave Me Tender invites viewers to sit with discomfort, consider how bodies carry stories shaped by experience and reflect on the boundaries of looking.

Artists

Imogen Walker
Ottilie Trevor-Harris
Freya Messenger

Venue

Chunk Bakery
174 Kirkstall Hill
Leeds LS4 2SX

More information

Leave Me Tender is one of a number of level 2 student exhibitions and projects taking place across Leeds this April and May as part of pitch: Fine Art Festival of Art 2026. 

See the full programme of projects and exhibitions.

pitch: Fine Art Festival of Art 2026 is also part of Situation Leeds Festival, happening across May and June 2026, celebrating contemporary art in the public realm. Situation Leeds is supported by Yorkshire Visual Arts Network and Hyde Park Book Club.

Image

Image courtesy of the artists.