Fruiting Bodies by Rosie Vohra | WTF IS A WOOSHY ANYWAY by Wooshy

Opening: Wednesday 18 October 2023 5:00pm-6:30pm

Location: Leeds Arts University, Blenheim Walk, Leeds LS2 9AQ

Free entry. Booking not required.

Leeds Arts University is proud to host the opening of artistic commissions Fruiting Bodies by Rosie Vohra and WTF IS A WOOSHY ANYWAY by Wooshy. The artists were commissioned as part of the 2023 Access and Participation Plan (APP) Commissions Programme. The evening will commence with a drinks reception and welcome, before proceeding to explore the works in further detail.

For accessibility information, please email curatorial@leeds-art.ac.uk.

Following the opening, the works will be available to see until 18 December 2023 by appointment by contacting curatorial@leeds-art.ac.uk.

Rosie Vohra: Fruiting Bodies

Fruiting Bodies presents three books bound in the outline of the artist’s body. Rosie Vohra considers the relationship between the human and the non-human as a way to think about belonging, identity and storytelling.

The fruiting body is the only visible part of the mushroom; the majority of the fungus exists underground as a web called mycelium, which gathers resources from the environment to nourish the exposed parts of itself. Vohra presents these books as fruiting bodies to acknowledge that they are part of a larger network connecting memories, experiences, family, history, form and picture-making.

The artist’s figure is used as a framework to connect the physical world with an inner landscape. In the making of these pages, the artist posed herself the question, ‘Where do you feel this in the body?’ to determine which book the pages should be bound into. The making of each drawing, painting or collage is individually located in a time and space, but bound together they hold a passage of time, allowing for new associations to be made. Vohra explores a non-linear way of storytelling and invites viewers to navigate their own associations with each page turn, allowing for the body to change.

Leeds Arts University Library’s special collections were used in the development of this commission and Vohra has selected key titles to display alongside her own artist book. One of Vohra’s own sketchbooks is also displayed to honour the importance of process and the passing of time in her artistic practice.

Wooshy: WTF IS A WOOSHY ANYWAY

Wooshy World is a multimedia image-making project developed by the artist to express the full extent of their creative practice, which in any given moment can include graphic design, 3D rendering, illustration and writing. The “WTF IS A WOOSHY ANYWAY” project is an attempt to present that practice in an exhibition format, through the aesthetic of a pop-up store. In this space the works are both an art object and consumer product. The work is largely inspired by artists of the Superflat movement of the early 2000s — particularly the works of Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara.