Silian Gallery is proud to present VAGUS with Ella Kate Harrison, the artist’s first solo exhibition with the Gallery. The exhibition is on view from 2nd September to 18th October 2024.

In Harrison’s latest collection, her works explore and celebrates the intricate connection between our bodily rhythms nad nature’s melodies. The Vagus nerve, named from the Latin "vagus" meaning "wandering," symbolises the inherent links within the human body and with nature. This nerve meanders through our being, much like the intuitive, rhythmic marks that travel across the paper. As a continuous hummer and singer, Ella is fascinated by behaviours that stimulate the vagus nerve and can almost see some of the pieces like “graphic scores” or alternative notation.

Nature itself sings to soothe us. Bird vocalizations, sung in safety, calm humans. The coldness and sounds of the sea, combined with the interplay between the sea and the moon, profoundly affect our mood. Research even suggests that plants grow better when exposed to the right musical frequency. “Vagus” celebrates nature's abundance and musicality and their impact on our well-being. We each have a unique song and vibration to contribute to the world.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

ELLA KATE HARRISON

Harrison is a painter and colourist from North Yorkshire who has lived in South London for the past decade. She studied at Manchester School of Art and earned an MA in Visual Arts from Camberwell College of Art (UAL), where she received the Rector’s Scholarship. Based in a studio in Brixton, Harrison creates abstract and semi-abstract paintings that frequently explore themes of nature, well-being, and music. While painting remains her primary focus, she has recently started working with clay and has created large hand-built vases. Harrison exhibits regularly across London, and her work is held in private collections internationally. She is passionate about colour, line, and pattern, working intuitively and valuing the painting process as much as the outcome.