The Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate is set to launch an immersive exhibition of "light, space and reflection" next week.
Acclaimed British artist Liz West is bringing her unique exhibition to the gallery from Friday 13th April.
The artwork is called H.A.P.P.Y as a counterbalance to Liz’s personal experience of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.) - a condition linked to the shorter and darker days of Autumn and Winter.
She experiments with colour and light to create environments that “inspire joy and curiosity.”
The exhibition will run throughout the Spring and Summer - the time when Liz is at her happiest due to increased daylight and warmer weather.
Liz West’s work, whether intimate or monumental in scale, is said to create playful experiences and environments that “heighten our senses and positively affect how we feel.”
She is interested in a deep human connection to colour and light, and how they can evoke physical, psychological, and emotional responses.
At the heart of this exhibition is ‘Our Colour Reflection,’ an immersive artwork, composed of 765 multi-coloured mirrored discs arranged across the floor, which transforms its environment into a vibrant spectacle of shifting colour and luminosity.
The mirrors bounce colour onto walls, ceilings, and viewers themselves, encouraging interaction and personal interpretation.
Visitors will experience the 1806 Spa Promenade Room that houses the Mercer Gallery literally in a whole new light.
Exhibition screens and window blinds have been removed to allow natural light to flood the space.
Liz said:
“It is a great pleasure to be exhibiting my work at The Mercer Art Gallery in Harrogate.
“I have visited this beautiful spa town many times over the years with whilst growing up in Yorkshire, with great interest.
“With the window coverings in the elegant Spa Promenade Room being removed for the first time in decades, the interplay of colour and light within the space will be kaleidoscopic and dynamic.”
In a unique collaboration, West’s work has inspired the Leeds-based electronic producer, musician and artist Cherry Seraph (the alias of Sophie Russell) to create a new sound piece which will play continuously in the gallery, commissioned with the support of the Friends of the Mercer Gallery.
Russell said:
“Liz West’s work lends itself perfectly to having a soundtrack, primarily because of the palpable effect that colour has on our emotions.
“There is a meaningful, and intimate interplay between the relationships of colour frequencies and sound; they contain a shared relationship to translate moods and more.
“My piece seeks to capture the essence of Liz’s work and what it is to feel, honing in on what ‘happiness’ is”.
Curator Karen Southwort said:
“Liz’s work encourages us to become aware of our surroundings in new ways.
“It leads us to tune into our own emotional responses, memories and experiences – each person will have an individual and very personal reaction.
“We’re thrilled to host Liz West’s work at the Mercer, it’s a major artistic event for North Yorkshire.”
H.A.P.P.Y will be on display at the Mercer Art Gallery from April 13th to October 5th 2025.
Find out more about upcoming exhibitions at The Mercer Art Gallery here.
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