Marjan Wouda: Familiar

An exhibition of sculpture and drawings by Marjan Wouda, inspired by Lancashire's story lore and landscape.

Fascinated by the animal characters which populate local stories, Marjan re-imagines them in paper, clay and steel. She prefers to place them big and bold in the environment, where the material changes with the time of day and the seasons and where we can experience them in all dimensions.

In front of The Whitaker, is your chance to get up close and as personal as you like with Dandy (a two-meter supernatural dog inspired by the history of the Pendle Witches), The Dun Cow of Parlick (a bovine giantess who gave too much of herself) and Sir Hare, the largest sculpture at 3.6 meter in gorgeous rusty Corten steel.

Inside Gallery One, Marjan takes you by the hand into her story-world. She allows you to discover the processes by which she develops her ideas from tiny sketches and paper maquettes to large charcoal drawings and test pieces in cardboard. Also on show is much of the work that went into the creation of two books that celebrate her favourite two stories, set in the landscapes that gave rise to them.

Through her work, Marjan compels us to examine our familiarity with animals, our combined history on this earth and how we share this landscape around us.