Flux Exhibition 2025

Flux hosted their 12th Exhibition at the Old Bomb Factory in Marylebone, London on the 17th-20th July, and I was one of 70 lucky exhibitors!

From art drop off...

 

 

Well it's no secret that this was my first big exhibition, and I went all in on this one. Not only did I go quite far out of my comfort zone, but I decided London would be a great place to start. After tackling the overwhelm and the potential exposure, everything worked out very well!

 

...to opening night...

 

The Private View was 3 hours of laughs, sweat (a lot!), entertainment and lots of conversations. It was like a pre-show party for everyone exhibiting to really let their hair down, relax and enjoy the show (and the bar). 

It was also the first time I met an incredible bunch of women who I had only previously met online - from the waist up - good old Zoom! Affectionately named 'PIPsters' down to the professional artists business school we were all members of (Passion into Profit). It was so good to finally meet in person. 6 of us were exhibiting at Flux, but we also had quite a few other PIPsters swing by to say hi and to see the exhibition. How great is that?!

 

 

 

For some reason I decided to create 10 brand new pieces for the exhibition. Boy! I won't be doing that again. I genuinely thought I wouldn't get them all done when I realised how close the exhibition was, but I did, along with a bit of stress, tense shoulders and exhaustion. I even managed to varnish each piece and install the hanging hardware with a few days to spare.

I named the collection 'Stars and Spiros' (as in spirographs) after my pure love for them, especially when I was younger. Inspired by little loves, nostalgia and the good feeling each piece gave me when I was creating it. There is also a universal theme running through each piece, giving off hints of freedom, the space to breathe and endless possibilities.

 

...and a bit of silliness

 

There were also a few moments during the exhibition where reality hit, several times wanting to hide in a dark space and not want to come out. One being the simple task of giving away little gifts I pre-prepared at home to passers by, which you'd think would be pretty simple, but no. I seemed to seize up and fail miserably. Unfortunately one of my PIPsters 'Kweenie' witnessed this several times with a pure look of frustration. God knows what she was actually thinking, but I do wish I had her stomach of steel at the time.

On the Saturday, we were informed that a group of Interior Designers were coming to look around the exhibition, and that we were invited to talk about our work. Well...you can probably imagine at this point how I felt about that (head in hands freaking out)...and yes, I did have a freak out. So much so that I hid around the corner from my exhibition space just as the interior designers were approaching. It took three people to physically pull me back to my space and plonk me in front of expectant faces. I'm not entirely sure what happened next, but about 3 minutes later I was breathing rather slow and long breaths, with a bit of a shake, thinking "i've done it!" NO, I can't remember what I said, but I did the thing and that's that.

Yes the exhibition was full-on, exhausting and an experience, so it's no surprise that a little silliness was expected, and my god did it do the trick! Just a few moments here and there to let the walls down, relax and enjoy, especially with a few new friends for life!

I did take all of my pieces home with me, but that's ok. I had never done this before so told myself to just enjoy the whole event, walk around and chat to lots of people. After seeing so much amazing art on the walls, I did have a few 'imposter syndrome' moments thinking my art was just awful in comparison, but I did have to remind myself that I applied to the exhibition like everyone else, and for one reason or another, was accepted to show my artwork and I will be forever thankful to Flux for the opportunity. (Who knows - I might apply next year too!).

Well that's a wrap. God knows there's probably more I could say that i've forgotten, but for a first big exhibition, I'm just happy I made it through. What a ride. Until next time...