6 Characters in Search of an Author

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In '6 Characters in Search of an Author' renowned illustrator Sara Fanelli invites audiences to physically inhabit her designs through a new installation of collaged objects, drawing, painting, light and film at the Stanley Picker Gallery. Whereas her books intended for young readers have always had a strong appeal to adults, these huge new works physically reduce us all to children, dwarfing us with their looming presence. Although still immediately recognisable as Fanelli's sophisticated visual reverie, this new body of work is surprising not only for its confident execution on such an ambitious scale, but also for the dark brooding surrealism explored here by the artist. The characters in this interpretation of Luigi Pirandello's famous play jostle with each other for the physical space of the Gallery, creating an intense and claustrophobic atmosphere for us to inhabit together with them. Taking bold steps away from the more intimate world of the book-illustrator, Fanelli invites us to submerge ourselves in her imagination and join her on a journey that is every bit as enchanting as her work for the printed page.