The North Wall is pleased to present No Way of Knowing, an exhibition featuring Alison Dalwood and Michael Wright, two artists who explore themes of memory, loss, and humanity’s connection with landscapes over time.
Silent Spring, Dalwood’s installation of paintings, serves as a poignant memorial for the 40 million wild birds lost from the UK since the 1970s. Canvas widths correspond directly to the populations lost across five distinct habitats—farmland, wetland, woodland, upland, and the sea. Dalwood’s dark, ethereal canvases subtly trace the contours of forests, mountains, and coastlines, capturing the nuances of fleeting light and embodying the fragile, fading presence of these ecosystems. She transforms stark statistics into a visual, visceral experience, urging us to reckon with the environmental crisis before us. The title references Rachel Carson’s seminal work Silent Spring, which catalyzed awareness of the environmental impact of pesticides.
In parallel, Michael Wright’s Sisyphus captures fragments of ancient societies through plaster forms, evoking the weight of history via compression and tension. Each element, marked by the residue of human touch, becomes a relic inviting viewers to connect with the physical and metaphysical traces of the past. In Field, Wright explores cultural landscapes that reflect ancient civilizations eroded by time or human intervention. These expressive sculptures are arranged to interact with each other, embodying humanity’s persistent search for connection across ages. His work suggests both psychological and physical landscapes, reflecting themes of power, vulnerability, and the search for meaning.
In this exhibition, Dalwood and Wright challenge us to reflect on our shared histories and the ephemeral nature of existence, inviting a deeper understanding of how natural and cultural landscapes shape our identities and memories.
About the Artists
Alison Dalwood lives and works in Oxfordshire. She is an internationally exhibited visual artist who has received awards from Arts Council England and Oppenheim John Downes. Her residencies include the Institute for New Media (Frankfurt) and Art in the Arboretum (Harcourt, University of Oxford). Dalwood holds an MFA from Reading University and currently lectures in fine art. She has exhibited at prestigious venues such as I Space (Chicago), Beijing New Art Projects (China), Schloss Bothmer (Klütz, Germany), and the John Moores Exhibition at Walker Art Gallery (Liverpool), as well as The Wilson, Cheltenham Art Gallery and Museum, and Kunstverein Grafschaft Bentheim (Germany). Her solo exhibitions include those at Unwahr Gallery (Berlin), Academia Gallery (Sofia, Bulgaria), Casa Matei Gallery, (Cluj-Napoca, Romania), Globe Gallery, Bede Gallery, and Hatton Gallery in Newcastle upon Tyne. Dalwood’s work is featured in Wonder in Contemporary Artistic Practice, published by Routledge.
Michael Wright lives and works in London. He is an internationally exhibited sculptor with works in public collections such as Reuten Gallery (Amsterdam), OCT Boxes Art Museum (Guangdong, China), and Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre. A graduate of the Royal Academy Schools, Wright engages in a multi-media practice and teaches in BA and MA Fine Art programmes. He has exhibited at Gisela Freier Kunstraum (Berlin), Schloss Bothmer (Klütz, Germany), and Reuten Gallery (Amsterdam). Additionally, Wright collaborates with Amsterdam-based artist Henriette Van’t Hoog on sculpture and video installations, which have been exhibited at Centrum Beeldende Kunst (Emmen) and Pulchri Art Gallery (The Hague). He is also a member of Munich’s Rhythm Section, exhibiting at Hubei Museum of Art (China), Kunstverein Augsburg (Germany), and the Schafhof European House of Art (Munich). As part of the Beautiful Formula Collective, Wright has collaborated on live painting performances at venues such as Boxes Art Museum (Guangdong, China) and ep.contemporary (Berlin).
Exhibition Opening
Wednesday 22 January 6 – 8 pm
Please join us to celebrate the opening of the exhibition
Free Entry / No Booking Required
Artists’ Talk
Saturday 1 February 2-3 pm
Please also join us for tea and cake
