VANE - Gateshead

Peter Hanmer, Paul Raymond, Stuart Mel Wilson 9 October – 1 November 2025 Peter Hanmer, Keep Your Distance, 2021, mixed media diorama, 60x118x23cm ‘What the Others Built’ resurrects the Exquisite Corpse. The reimagining of this surrealist game of chance brings together the diverse practices of Peter Hanmer, Paul Raymond and Stuart Mel Wilson. All three artists have developed a shared composition; an environment mirroring the way in which humanity’s disconnected, often short-sighted actions construct increasingly unpredictable and precarious forms of existence. Fragmented figures, unpredictable outcomes... Peter Hanmer draws on history, politics, philosophy and storytelling to create allegorical, fantastical sculptural works chiefly in miniature. These reflect his interest in the power of art as a cultural and political critique, presenting intricately crafted worlds imbued with meaning. Plato, Descartes, and today’s computer simulation builders generate scepticism about the credibility of our ordinary experience. They raise doubts about how we can distinguish reality from substitutes made of shadows, dreams, or virtual realities. Hanmer’s work proposes that our reality is essentially a political reality made of images, slogans, and fantasies. Peter Hanmer was born in Northumberland in 1992 and is currently based between Newcastle upon Tyne and Edinburgh. Hanmer studied at Newcastle University, receiving an MFA in Fine Art with Distinction in 2018. He is a Member of the Royal Society of Sculptors, winner of the Gillian Dickinson North East Young Sculptor of the Year Award 2017 and the Air Gallery Award 2023. Solo exhibitions include ‘Plato’s Lair’, Cheeseburn Sculpture (2018) and ‘Seeking Armageddon’, Newcastle Art Centre (2022). Group exhibitions include ‘Digital Citizen – The Precarious Subject’, Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2019), Manchester Contemporary (2023), and New Light Summer Exhibition of the North, Sunny Bank Mills, Leeds (2025). Paul Raymond, Blobmouth, 2025, fabric, fake fur, mixed media Paul Raymond, Tubbyhand, 2023, Plasticine, modelling clay, mixed media Paul Raymond is an artist and educator. He is interested in experimental, collaborative and playful approaches to making, and his work often invokes imagery from surreal childhood memories and half-remembered nostalgic nightmares. Raymond’s current practice explores the tension between creativity and conformity, emerging from his own experience of working within an increasingly regressive educational system shaped by political ideology and imagined nostalgia. Taking inspiration from the derogatory term ‘The Blob’ (popularised in politics by former Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove) Raymond aims to upend this insult and harness the chaotic power of The Blob as a means of resisting the rigid systems in which we are forced to operate. His Blobby methodology draws upon surrealist games, embraces uncertainty and celebrates unpredictable outcomes. Paul Raymond was born in Durham in 1980 and is currently based in Gateshead. Raymond studied at Northumbria University receiving a BA (Hons) Fine art in 2004, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Education in 2009. Raymond has recently undertaken several artist residencies including the MAKE residency, Freelands Foundation, London (2021), AiR at Durham Sixth Form Centre (2022-23), and AA2A at University of Sunderland (2023-25). Solo exhibitions include ‘BLOBBY BLOBBY BLOBBY!!!’, Dead Dog Gallery, Durham, and ‘BLOBBY Window’, RePUBlic Gallery, Blyth (2023). Group exhibitions include ‘North East Open’, Baltic Centre of Contemporary Art, Gateshead (2020) and ‘Beyond the Goldmine Standard’, Gallagher & Turner, Newcastle upon Tyne (2024). Stuart Mel Wilson, Honey Trap, 2019, spray paint and ink on plaster board installation Stuart Mel Wilson, Matter, 2024, ink pen and watercolour on paper, 177x150cm Stuart Mel Wilson constructs drawing installations that examine the shifting societal role of labour, craft and art. His work explores the absurdity and humour in the way we process this world, touching upon philosophical ideas such as the human experience, perception, interpretation, language, and the expressive power of art. By using traditional techniques and transforming them into installations and sculptural works, Wilson seeks to invite viewers into a space where they can engage with the artwork in a holistic and sensory manner. This intention aligns with the belief that art has the power to transcend literal language and communicate on a deeper, more experiential level. Stuart Mel Wilson was born in Gateshead in 1986 and lives in Newcastle upon Tyne. He gained a National Diploma in Fine Art from Newcastle College in 2006, and BA (Hons) Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, University of London in 2009. His solo exhibition, ‘Aporia’, was at Vane in 2019. Other solo exhibitions include ‘Your’s’, Norfolk Street Arts, Sunderland (2020), ‘Anfroqomorqhism’, Dead Dog Gallery, Durham, (2024), and ‘Untitle’, High Bridge Works, Newcastle upon Tyne (2025). Group exhibitions include ‘Drawing’, Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield (2022), ‘In The Round’, Pineapple Black, Middlesbrough (2023), and ‘Voices from the Outskirts’, Elysium, Swansea (2025).

Kirsty Harris is a British artist known for her intricate and detailed drawings that explore the relationship between humans and their environment. Her work often focuses on the natural world, particularly plants and animals, and she uses a variety of materials and techniques to create her pieces.