Early Bird, would you still love me?
Full of colour, humour, and tenderness, ‘Early Bird, would you still love me?’ looked at joy as something quietly radical, a way of getting through the world’s heaviness without pretending it’s not there. The worm, our little emblem, wriggled its way into people’s hearts, reminding us that softness and silliness can be powerful too.
Wall Text: "Through bright colors and playful imagery, Early Bird, would you still love me? explores works by Abbie Birtles that embrace expressions of joy as an act of resilience. With a staunch commitment to positivity, the works in this exhibition navigate life’s inevitable storms—not by denying them, but by wriggling through them with humour, tenderness, and care.
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At the heart of this show is the worm: ugly, simple, and overlooked. A stand-in for girlhood, it emerges when it rains—when the world is heaviest, when sadness soaks the ground. The worm becomes a mask, a quiet emblem of endurance, retreating safely underground until it is needed again.
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Through painted works, and utilizing found and recycled materials, Abbie Birtles transforms scraps into something joyful, mirroring the way beauty and play can be salvaged from the remnants of hardship.
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In this space, colour is a form of survival, and resilience is as natural as the rain."