Mulberry Detritus

Rehabilitation of young offenders and telling their story

Curated by S.Downham-Lotto

Installation by S.Downham-Lotto, commenced by Young Offenders

Mulberry Detritus

400cm x 350cm mixed media on paper installation (2018 Devon)

Characteristic of much of Sara’s practice, Mulberry Detritus is a reworked, ‘upcycled’ piece that started out as a 15 foot circular floor painting, collaboratively-made with workshop participants. In this instance, groups of young offenders from London, as part of the Arts Lab Key4Life partnership rehabilitation project (2016-18), visited the studio at Dartington to draw, paint and perform rap.  Relationship-building and confidence boosting apart, participants returned to London with the shared memory of creating something beautiful together. Alone in the studio, Sara took the work further. Tearing up, puncturing holes and slapping on layers of mulberry-hued paper led to a natural break away from her 2D habits. Multilayered and colour-saturated, histories are exposed through traces of layers or ‘lives’ seen beneath the surface.

“My large 3D work challenges the ‘walk-along-the-wall-looking-at-art convention’. Stimulating a more active involvement with the artwork – walk around, peer through, stretch your neck to look up, bending down to see what’s underneath – the experience of looking becomes more memorable.”

Photographs taken by Sara during her solo show Play: Participatory exhibition of paintings & installations by S. Downham-Lotto at MakeTank Exeter. (Oct ’21)

Detritus I, II & III (triptych)

Each measures 50cm x 65cm mixed paper media on card (2005-18 Devon)

Triptych made from carefully salvaged discarded pieces from paintings made as long as 13 years ago. Sara’s collage technique of splicing up, tearing and scoring into, pealing away, resulted in a collection of several ‘boxes of bits’. Each of these bits has a history, once upon a time being part of a painting that didn’t need them. Detritus I, II & III are the outcomes of an opportunity for them to have a life of their own.