Give Way: deconstructed road signs by Dan Rawlings at the StolenSpace Gallery, Shoreditch -

I loved this series of deconstructed road signs at the StolenSpace Gallery in Shoreditch.

The exhibition by Dan Rawlings is called Give Way and features metal signs being reclaimed by the nature that surrounds them.

Please note that the exhibition closes on the 29th May 2021, so you’ll need to be quick!

The gallery website says:

StolenSpace Gallery is excited to introduce work by British artist Dan Rawlings, in his first solo exhibition with us entitled ‘Give Way’.

Rawlings has a sympathy for unloved and forgotten relics, and a fascination with nature’s resilience. This inspired him to create visions of a world where man’s impact is being slowly reclaimed by nature. This theme is relevant to ‘Give Way’, which explores how the urban landscape has merged into nature.

His new works let us daydream about derelict roads, of walking them, no longer liminal but as a new landscape. Nettles and brambles with their Inimical nature caution us as they envelope redundant street arrows, and traffic lights that flicker like the last moments of a wick. The stillness is invisible. This place is for all of us now.

‘Overnight the soundscape changed and I realised the motorway was totally silent. Everything else seemed to surge to this critical mass of branches and birdsong.’ – Dan Rawlings, 2021

Dan Rawlings currently lives and works in Gloucestershire. He is probably best know for his manipulation of metal and light, conceived with intricate hand-plasma cutting to create stunning works of art with equally beautifully shadows. His signature works cut from vintage hand saws and street signage can be found in collections around the world.