Through large-scale, colourful drawings, printmaking, sculpture, and short stories, Rock imagines a new world order populated by mutant hybrid species who have inherited the ruins of human civilisation.
Pushing the boundaries of what constitutes ‘drawing’, the gallery will be transformed into a series of theatrical spaces that will explore the fantastical lives of these tough, dystopian creatures.
In one, a life-sized papier-mâché rat sits in a rusting sports car, while in another a giant slug is ensconced in a replica prison cell. Are the new mutant creatures doomed to repeat the same mistakes as human civilisation?
Isabel’s recent experience in prison, after participating in Just Stop Oil protests, informs key aspects of the exhibition. During a month-long stay at HMP Bronzefield, Rock used drawing as a vital outlet, sketching her surroundings with salvaged materials, including opened-out envelopes and precious biros. This act of creative defiance underpins the exhibition’s recurring themes of survival, adaptation and connection.