‘Eavesdropping on the Otherworld’
Dimbola, Freshwater, Isle of Wight
14th March - 7th June 2026
Featuring paintings by Syd Wytch, Elina Rudzite and Lilium Wilkinson O’Dwyer and more..
Music by ‘Liar, Flower’
‘Acid Folk Art’
Intuitive and visionary, permeated with paranormal properties.
Self taught, off kilter and connected by mycelium.
“Eavesdropping on the Other World” is due to begin on March 14th at Dimbola in Freshwater on the Isle of Wight. Dimbola was the home of Julia Margaret Cameron, one of the most important portraitists of the 19th century. Hugely influential, and it could be said - more responsible than anyone else at turning photography into an art-form. I am honoured to once again be exhibiting in the room which was once her studio. The show will consist of my own paintings (most produced during my residency at Ventnor Botanic Garden), and a small collection of paintings by other artists that inspired them. I’ve also been back in the darkroom, producing images on the back of theatre light lenses. Mounted in circular wooden frames, and illuminated from behind, appearing like portholes to another world.
All of this is self-funded, and we survive through the proceeds of the sale of our artwork. All of the work in this show is available here at wytch.co.uk, where payment in installments is available.
RITUAL
Claim your place in the sun and go forward into the light. The tools are there; the path is known; you simply have to turn your back on a culture that has gone sterile and dead, and get with the programme of a living world and a re-empowerment of the imagination.
McKenna
Usually to be found in the darkroom, Syd Wytch (1977) has spent the last six months in a studio in the tropical house in Ventnor Botanical Gardens. He has attempted to go beyond the realm of witnessing the physical world with a camera, and has embarked on an exploration of imagination and vision, creating large oil paintings and a surrealistic peep-show in a wardrobe.
‘Eavesdropping on the Otherworld’ suggests glimpses of another reality unfiltered by our conscious minds. As well as creating new work for the show, Syd has been collecting work in which he recognises a similar objective of capturing an alternate world - genuinely odd pieces, and sometimes unsettling. Each of these collected works has spoken to Syd in a unique voice that was difficult to ignore.
Two artists - Elina Rudzite and Lilium Wilkinson O’Dwyer have also been invited to include their work in the exhbition. Elina, originally from Latvia and currently residing in East Sussex, and Lillium lives between the Isle of Wight and Brighton. Both artist share an innate pursuit of otherworldly exploration, and create portals to transport you there too.
Music is by ‘Liar, flower’ (KatieJane Garside and Chris Whittingham). Their new album 'ornamental gardens' is available now on Bandcamp (liarflower.bandcamp.com).
Thank you to everybody that has made this possible, and a special thank you to Syd’s old mucker and soulmate - Molly.
Please get in touch if there is a particular piece that you would like to own.
