x3 Ritual Patterns

Explore the new exhibition in the x3 exhibition series titled Ritual Patterns

Bringing together three artists: Kwaga Sillingi (ActionSpace), Marina Devlin (Project Ability) and Neelam Ahmad (Venture Arts), Ritual Patterns examines these artists’ interpretations of rituals, repetition, and pattern. Relishing in organic forms, nature, and colour, Ritual Patterns looks at how each of these artists incorporates ritual into their practice through repetition of shapes, motifs and transcendent influences.

Audio descriptions are written and voiced by ActionSpace artists Albert Heaney McKinnell and Jide Bamgbose.

Exhibition Gallery

'Jungle With White Stag' by Marina Devlin

“I like painting everything - stripy lines and tiny leaf patterns, shading and blending luminous bright light.”

– Marina Devlin

The Tiger Gets Ready to Sleep by Marina Devlin

Artist Biographies

Kwaga Sillingi

ActionSpace artist Kwaga Sillingi combines paper collage, acrylic and emulsion to create bold, large-scale paintings. Through repetition, she explores dense colour combinations and layouts of circular forms in her work. Frequently working on multiple paintings at a time, Kwaga has developed her own unique, systematic painting process: she collages painted circles into ordered patterns to form the basis for the final works. Kwaga’s distinct style combines collage and painting by layering expressive cyclical gestures to form mighty paintings that rhythmically shift across the paper.

Watch Kwaga Sillingi’s unique, systematic painting process.

Marina Devlin

Marina Devlin is a Scottish artist who has been working within Project Ability for many years. Marina finds inspiration for her creative practice from nature, religion and animals. An admirer of Henri Rousseau, she often uses his style and motifs to create her own unique compositions of wildlife and jungle landscapes. Another important influence for Marina is religion. Working on large canvases with complex compositions, she weaves intricate and historical stories into her paintings – sharing with the viewer that which is closest to her heart.

Neelam Ahmad

Neelam Ahmad is an artist based at Venture Arts. Neelam focuses particularly on ceramics and photography and is inspired by images, patterns and shapes from everyday surroundings that inspire her, such as flowers and henna work. Neelam extracts images of henna patterns and translates them into digital drawings using layered tones and brush sizes to create intricate drawings that float and glow in space.

Watch Neelam Ahmad’s film ‘Henna Light’.

About the Audio Describers

Jide Bamgbose and Bert Heany McKinnell are both resident artists at ActionSpace’s studios. Jide is an experienced draughtsman specialising in landscape and architecture. Bert’s artistic practice spans sculpture, drawing and painting, focusing on the anatomy of the human form. Both artists have exhibited, curated, and audiodecribed artworks for many projects, including the Royal Academy of Arts’ Art is Part of the Equation (2018) and Summer Exhibition (2019).

About x3

‘x3’ is an exhibition series where each studio hosts an online exhibition showing work by an artist from each studio. In total there will be three online exhibitions with ten artists participating. In 2022, x3 will become a physical touring exhibition. Join our mailing list for updates!

Explore other x3 exhibitions online by clicking the following links: Electric Dreams (hosted by Venture Arts) and Altered Space (hosted by Project Ability)

Help us to secure more funding for exhibitions by completing our online exhibition survey here.