Wild Things: Carolyn Bew and Alison Coaten

About

In celebration of our 12th anniversary, KMA Gallery is breaking free with our end of year exhibition Wild Things, a reminder to let our imagination run wild amongst the characters and creatures of the world.

The backbone of human thought, our imaginations are responsible for every advancement or achievement across space and time and yet not prized as the ultimate expression of the human mind. Here it is given free reign, capturing what has been and what could be, fusing the human experience with the natural world and reminding us of who we really are - wild beings free to live uninhibited amongst the beauty of the earth.

Featuring the work of Carolyn Bew and Alison Coaten, each artist has responded in their own unique ways, a testament to their distinctive voices within each of their practices.

A renowned sculptor, Alison presents When I Grow Up, part of an ongoing dialogue series that explores childhood play, imagination, and our instinctive tendency to attribute human emotions and traits to animals. Across cultures, children are often portrayed as closer to the spirit world, more attuned to the voices of animals and the rhythms of the earth. Play is not just escapism—it’s a way of understanding the world, forming identity, and expressing empathy. Alison invites us to reconsider the boundaries of intelligence and belonging, reminding us that society and culture are not exclusively human domains—and that intelligence comes in many forms.

Carolyn’s multidisciplinary work explores the tragicomic duality of the human condition, and like Alison also reflects on the loss of imagination and connection as we develop and mature. This presents itself as an adult compulsion to conform to the structures and expectations of contemporary society while grappling with an irrepressible yearning to return to the untamed, to act upon the impulses that remind us we are, after all, still animals. For Carolyn, our relationship with animals is both primal and profound, extending beyond the instinct for survival, reaching toward something that defines our very sense of being. Animals are mirrors for our inner lives: reflections through which we attempt to understand ourselves.

Wild Things runs from 22nd November to 24th December 2025 at KMA Gallery, 3 Church Street, Brighton.