I found it hard to believe – and had to check twice to be sure – that it’s been a year since my previous visit to LiThO Gallery, the tiny art(ist) Café, operated by Lizzy Swordthain and Tom Willis. I owe both any apology for this oversight on my part, and hope this piece goes some way towards making up for it.
A lot has changed in that time (unsurprisingly), so while I was particularly drawn back by the September 2024 exhibition at the Gallery, I’ll also be covering more about the location and some of its expansion.
The exhibition in question is CK’s Willows, a small but engaging selection of pieces by CK (Ceakay Ballyhoo). CK is one of the driving forces within the Corsica Southern Coasters community of artists with whom LiThO is associated, as well as being an accomplished artist. With Willows she presents an engaging collection of images celebrating the passing of summer in the northern hemisphere and the arrival of autumn.
The collection comprises twelve images, each of which offers a unique view of an autumnal day or an expression of autumn. From the orange-tinted beauty of a sunset reflected in water, to studies of leaves as they turn from green to brown to paintings of an almost abstract natures, these are all engaging pieces, neatly spread through the café-come-galley’s rooms, with the titular Willows perhaps being my favourite due to the serenity and harmony it evokes.
All of the pieces are available for purchase and as ever, the coffee house presents s cosy place in which to view them and pass the time. However, the art is now all that is on offer.
Since my last visit, LiThO has become a part of a network of local attractions operated by Lizzy and Tom under (I believe I am correct is saying) the Fine Art and Music banner. These include the outdoor event space I noted back in September 2023, and which appears not to have been turned into a hang-out space called Little Wiskeria, the HeArt and Soul Gallery (which will be featured in a future piece in these pages), and which has the Fine Art Office and the Trip The Light Fantastic Dance Club flanking it to either side, and all of which – again, I think I’m correct in saying – opened after me previous visit to LiThO. Then there’s a radio station and the place I particularly want to note here, the Forest Art Walk.
The entrance / landing point of the latter sits immediately to the south of the LiThO Art Gallery, and essentially loops around the rear of the Gallery’s location, dipping down through woodlands as it does so before returning to the roadside on the north side of the Gallery by way of a path passing between the Gallery and Little Whiskeria.
Along the way, the trail presents the opportunity to discover various 3D pieces of art and passes by multiple places to sit and pass the time. I saw a couple hover text elements offering rentals, so I assume that there are spots along the walk artists can rent to display their work – but check with Tom or Lizzy, just in case I’m jumping to incorrect assumptions. As you follow the trail through the woods, you might find your way into the adjoining Dark Forest, another of CK’s works. This offers its own looping walk complete with 3D art elements for people to explore, as well as its own wildlife. Signposts through both the Forest Walk and the Dark Forest help with navigation, although I did wander off-trail a couple of time and strayed into a neighbouring parcel, prompting a quick reversal of course, but nothing that caused alarms bells to sound (I hope! 😀 ).
In all, LiThO and its surroundings continues to make for an interesting visit, and I’ll endeavour to keep more abreast with exhibitions there – and at the HeArt and Soul gallery!
Note: all images taken here utilise a personal EEP setting.
SLurl Details
- LiThO Gallery (Durdane, rated Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 