Skin Deep

Meadow Arts presents a new exhibition in partnership with National Trust. Artist Oliver Jones invites us to look at our own times in an impressive series of large-scale pastel drawings. Sometimes shocking, often melancholy or humorous, these extraordinary works take their place on the ground floor of Berrington Hall. Like a sudden invasion of hyper-reality, Jones’ portraits (cropped to resemble social media formats) jar and stand out, but they also seem strangely at home in the beautiful Georgian rooms. Touching on issues of body-image and self-esteem, the series illustrates a contemporary quest for beauty and perfection that takes in plastic surgery, skin treatments and body modification. Perfection and beauty are themes that occupy our modern lives, particularly on social media, but they were also concerns of Berrington’s original designers and occupants. We may have found new ways of communicating our ideals of the perfect life, the perfect landscape and ideal beauty, but the intentions are nothing new. Come on a journey of exploration at Berrington Hall, where the past and present spark new conversations.

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