And I wandered among them, through thistle and thorn, with no task more exceptional than to rescue a fleeting thought, as a tuft of wool, from the comb of the wind.

- Excerpt from Woolgathering by Patti Smith, 1992.

It may or may not surprise you that the very act of gathering wool (and the images such words It may or may not surprise you that the very act of gathering wool (and the images such words conjure in one’s mind) has seldom to do with the term woolgathering, a phrase that unequivocally lends itself to the purposeless of thoughts, the mindless and the mindful; the ones that dance and prance as they pitter and patter but never sleep.

It may or may not surprise you that literal woolgatherers (those solitary figures who bend It may or may not surprise you that literal woolgatherers (those solitary figures who bend towards the earth, collecting lost threads and remnants from the ground) may also be familiar with the practise of wandering thoughts, so much so that as time evolved and wool collectors shifted into seamstresses or other, the term used to describe their now dated daily ritual came to resemble the very thoughts that wafted them by as they bent, knelt and recoiled in the snow and sun.

It may or may not surprise you that Patti Smith’s 1992 short story Woolgathering is not inspired by one interpretation or the other, but both, as her words (despite reflecting on serve the purpose of nourishing idle thoughts and lost dreams, the author’s own the and physical act), others too.

When given time to reflect on the simplicity of Smith’s Woolgathering and how it is a testament to and meditation on the beauty of etymology, childhood memories, mother nature and the artist’s process, it may or may not surprise you that the nostalgia present in Smith’s short story also hangs heavy over all the artworks you see in this space, so much so that Woolgathering speaks of everything this exhibition could possibly be about.

Words by Christina Donoghue.

An exhibition curated and designed by Hollie Hunsdale

Exhibiting artists include Ruby Bankhead, Scarlett Benson-Hollis, Sae Bosco, Emma Cali, Tom Hayes, Phoebe Howard, Rowan Kelly, Francesca Miotti, Rebecca Mord, Lisa Mota, Molly Nencini, Maisie Pack, Maddie Rees, Polly Scott, Ruby Sorrell, and Yumo Yuan.

Dates: September 6 - 15, 2025

Opening times: 12 - 6 pm

PV: September 5, 6 - 9 pm