Myrninerest

Madge Gill never had any formal art training, yet her imaginative and experimental artwork brought her recognition as one of the foremost British Outsider artists. This month, the William Morris Gallery will open an exhibition of works by this extraordinary woman.

Born in Walthamstow, London, Gill endured a difficult early life. She was sent to an orphanage aged nine, as her family was ashamed of her illegitimacy. At 25, she married and later had several children - contracting a serious illness after giving birth for the fifth time.  In 1920, after recovering from the disease which left her blind in one eye, Gill was first ‘possessed’ by a spirit she referred to as Myrninerest, under which she would draw frenetic improvisations with an almost hallucinatory quality. She created thousands of pieces over the next four decades, mainly in black ink on white paper. Many of Gill's drawings feature a young woman in intricate dress, which is thought to either represent Gill herself or her daughter who was stillborn. Other common features in her work include geometric patterns, eyes, female faces and flowing clothing. 

Although Gill exhibited her art many times at the Whitechapel Gallery, she never sold any pieces out of fear that it would anger "Myrninerest". When she died in 1961 her vast output of artwork was finally discovered in her home. This exhibition will be the most comprehensive survey of Gill’s work to date and will bring together drawings, large-scale embroideries, textiles and archival objects, many of which have never been exhibited before. A section of one of her largest pieces, a monumental 30 foot long multicoloured calico titled Crucifixion of the Soul, will be unrolled. The exhibition will include many loans from Newham Council, Grosvenor Gallery, Collection l’Art Brut and several private collections which includes newly uncovered artworks, the first drawings she made during her time in hospital, a multitude of her iconic postcards and her last dated drawing ‘Architectural Fantasy’. 

22 June - 22 September 2019, William Morris Gallery, Lloyd Park, Forest Road
Walthamstow, London, E17 4PP

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