To a Shadow’s Edge

Low winter light reaches toward the edge of the floorboards, a gap in the buildings allows a slither of morning sun to spill across the gallery wall. Shadows dance through the colours of the stained glass windows. These fleeting moments of time and light are what Polly Gilroy has created in her first McLeavey Gallery show To a Shadow's Edge, which manages to be both grounded in its materials and ethereal at the same time. 

Taking cue from the reflections which cascade across walls and floors, Gilroy harnesses light play to create chromatic and spatial harmonies evocative of our environment. These artworks respond intimately to the sites they inhabit, absorbing the language of their surroundings. Light doesn’t just illuminate; it engages - its daily dance with the hues bring the works to life, casting new moods as time shifts. The works in To a Shadow’s Edge are inspired by the fleeting geometries of light and shadow within the architecture of the gallery, and the quiet impression these shadows leave behind. In these quiet transitions, the reading of colour and form is never fixed, but always evolving.

We loved having a chat to Gilroy about her upcoming exhibition and this opportunity to return to Pōneke Wellington where she graduated with a BFA (1st class Honours) from Toi Rauwhārangi – College of Creative Arts Massey University in 2017.  She now lives in Ōtautahi Christchurch where she has based herself while exhibiting around the motu. Gilroy’s practice blurs the boundaries between painting and sculpture, expanding the possibilities of both forms beyond their conventional limits. Click here for the full interview.