In her first solo exhibition, Graham’s practice delves into both local and universal histories through the lens of nature.

The exhibition opens with an etching featuring the Angel Oak in Peckham Rye, near the artist’s home. This tree, historically revered for its longevity, is believed to have inspired William Blake’s first vision in 1765, an encounter with “a tree filled with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling every bough like stars.”

The conceptual origins of Burial can be traced to a book found by the artist at a tiny second-hand bookshop in Liverpool titled “In a Country Churchyard” by Ronald Fletcher. This work explores the profound ways English churchyards commemorate past generations, grounding us in our historical roots. Graham’s work distils these fundamental and universally resonant truths, revealing the cyclical nature of life and the intrinsic bond between woman and nature. 

Graham’s ethereal figures inhabit realms of both serene stillness and bursts of dynamic energy, reflecting the recurring motifs of rabbits and hares - historically, symbols of vitality, rebirth and resurrection. Birds, often emblematic of the spiritual realm, transcend their conventional boundaries and often slip into pale abstraction, only to be pulled back into reality by their curled dark claws. Within Graham’s artistic vocabulary, these animals become conduits of connectivity between the realms of heaven and earth. 

Informed by an acute awareness of both human and animal experiences, Graham’s work visually integrates nature with biographical representations. The result is often allegorical and psychological, played out through an intricate interplay of expressive and lyrical mark-making that, at times, incorporates unconventional materials such as human hair and coffin-like nails. Traversing this fine line between life and death, Graham’s work invites us into a state of reflection that is morbidly comforting - a knowledge that all that has happened, all that will happen has happened before, and life will go on, and on.  

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curated by Angelica Jopling

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Mia Graham is a London-based artist and recent graduate from Camberwell College of Arts (2020 – 2023). Recent exhibitions include: “Cancer Season” (2023), 12 Saint George Street (Robbie Von Kampen) London; “Altar/Alter” (2023), Southwark Park Galleries and “ROE” (2022) Satellite Store, supported by Guts Gallery.