~Through the Woods Darkly ~ A review

Through the woods, darkly' is an exhibition of fairytale-inspired works at Rook Lane throughout the Frome Festival and beyond (3rd - 24th July). The viewer will be hard pushed to find anything as fluffy as a fairy - as the subtitle suggests, 'Celebrating the power of the fairytale for all ages'. The centrepiece of this season are Corinna Sargood's linocuts originally produced for Angela Carter's books of Fairy Tales. These have a strength and darkness that immediately demand closer inspection, the stark black and white images often telling much of a story in themselves.

Corinna and Angela Carter worked together over many years, the first volume published in 1990 and the second published after Angela Carter's death in 1992. This is the first exhibition of this work and also reprinted sections of a letterpress book, The Tiger's Bride are on display. This was designed by Sebastian Carter, printed at the Rampant Lions Press in 2000 and bound by Rosie Gray of Black Cat Binding. The edition was 100 plus 25 bound in full red goatskin.
Corinna studied at the Central School of Art, initially in theatre design but changed to etching and illustration being taught by the great Mervyn Peake and Cecil Collins. She began her career working for Oxford University Press but also managed a variety of unusual employment including running a Shadow Theatre and Punch and Judy show and transporting coal on a pair of narrowboats from the North to London.
After some time in London she moved to Dorset, where she stayed ten years. Corinna had regular exhibitions of work in London and wrote and illustrated 'Journey to the Jungle - an artist in Peru' for Bloomsbury in 1988. An American agent of Angela Carter's said when she was planning her next visit,  "Don't return to Peru, (where Corinna had been working on several occasions) go to Mexico don't even ask me why, just go.". Taking this advice, Corinna went planning to stay three months and stayed a year.
'It has been the biggest influence on my life' she says and still visits every year. It was during this first year in Mexico that she worked on the second volume of fairy tales.
The idea of a fairy tale theme for exhibition had been discussed with Fay Goodridge who put Corinna in touch with Jo Plimmer, Arts Administrator at Rook Lane. Unfortunately it was too late for 2009 so was pencilled in for the Frome Festival this year. 'Jo has done a fantastic job' and has extended the show to include story-telling, film and school and writing workshops.
The display of linocuts demonstrates a clean and original style, straight to the point, with enough humour, mostly black, and an edge that makes them difficult to forget. The incredible detail of the tattooed torsos or the beckoning hands, reflected surfaces and the strange creatures are equally fascinating and disturbing. This is a perfect opportunity to step into a world that should not be left behind after childhood, I am going back for a second helping.

Steven Jenkins