Shelagh Wakeley

A major exhibition of work by British artist Shelagh Wakely (1932-2011), providing a rare opportunity to encounter the ephemeral magic of her work in which simple images and forms blossom into myriad meanings and associations, imbued with her receptivity to the material world, her observation of nature and the emotional and sensual experiences it evokes.

The exhibition will be developed with her friend and collaborator, the Brazilian artist Tunga. It will include print, video, unfired ceramics, a series of delicate drawings in pencil and wire, and an intricate floor installation. The show will also include other artists with whom Wakely shared creative concerns as well as a younger generation who acknowledge her legacy and her inspiration for their work.

Gallery 1 will bring together works spanning the breadth of media Wakely worked with, including print, video, unfired ceramics and a series of experimental and exploratory drawings demonstrating her attention to the thresholds between things.

The whole of Gallery 2 will be devoted to a delicate stencilled floor installation created from the sweet-smelling golden spice, turmeric, first shown in Rome in 1991. Gallery 3 which retains the original architectural features and windows of the 1897 building, contains gold works, including a stencilled and cut-silk installation which changes with the shifting light and atmospheric conditions throughout the day.

The exhibition continues in Camden Arts Centre's garden where Wakely's work will be brought into conversation with artists with whom she shared creative concerns during her lifetime including Alison Wilding, Richard Deacon and Susan Hiller. Alongside their work, one of Wakely's outdoor pieces, Rainsquares (1994), will be remade and installed. Inspired by Wakely's own garden in North London and a commission she undertook for St George's Hospital in Tooting, an area will be devoted to plants with medicinal qualities, such as angelica, caraway, chervil, parsley and anise.