Relationships and Interactions

Fellow artists join Jenny Pery to celebrate the launch of her new handmade book, ‘Endangered’ during November as we consider our relationships with animals, our interactions with them and threats that they face. The exhibition will also feature limited edition wood engravings from the book and some of Jenny’s other works. Jenny will be joined by fellow printmakers Alexandra Robb and Julia Finzel, and Sculptor Sara Evans.

Over the years Jenny Pery has worked on many artists handmade books, either as collaborations or as individual items. Several of these books are in the Victoria and Albert Museum’s National Special Book Collection. Her own book ‘Weather Patterns’ consists entirely of etchings accompanied by a plethora of weather proverbs. Her own book ‘Animalore’ is a collection of illustrated animal proverbs using a variety of printmaking mediums – etching, drypoint, linocut, collagraph and wood engraving.

'Endangered': the current book is an alphabet of endangered animals, illustrated entirely with wood engravings. For many years Jenny has agonised about the vanishing species on our planet, due to random killing, poaching and loss of habitat. Although she supports the World Wildlife Fund, as an artist there is little she can do to help preserve these wonderful creatures. So, she decided to make a book to celebrate the rare and extraordinary animals that we still have. On her travels she has seen some of these creatures in the wild and has used her own drawings for illustration. Others have been derived from hundreds of images seen on screen.

Alexandra Robb moved to Torbay from London a few years ago and has also produced a new body of work for this show that represents her deep love of the natural world and the amazing biodiversity within it.
All the creatures depicted in her prints are native British species. They are not necessarily directly endangered species. However, she notes that ‘all our native wildlife is under some threat from the often-negligent activities of humankind. We need to protect this fragile wildlife that is on our doorstep by caring for its habitats and doing what we can to conserve it for future generations’.

By introducing people to the extraordinary and often quirky beauty of the landscapes and seascapes around them and the myriad creatures that exist there and through understanding and appreciating their beauty, Alex hopes that we can become better equipped to help conserve nature, through helping keep beaches clean, avoiding polluting our rivers and caring for habitats that will help protect wildlife.

Much of Alex’s inspiration as a wood engraver came for the 18th century engraver and conservationist Thomas Bewick. He produced a huge body of work in his lifetime including two books: A History of British Birds and A General History of Quadrupeds, both full of glorious illustrations.

A recurring theme in Julia Finzel’s work are animals, the natural world and man’s relationship to them. Based in Torbay, Julia makes etchings and photo-etchings and also works in oil and watercolour. Work on display will reflect these themes. Julia is a member of The Devon Guild of Craftsmen and The Double Elephant Print Workshop in Exeter. She printed at The Dartington Print Workshop for over 25 years before it's closure in 2020. She has made handmade books of etchings including 'The Dancing Matador' and Harper Collins published her children's book in 1991. Solo exhibitions include La Galleria Mnemoisine, Venice, The Royal Albert Memorial Museum.

Sara Evans’ playful, sometimes dark, often humorous sculptures are hand built in series and most are related to their predecessors. During the making process fresh challenges always arise sparking ideas for further pieces, as well as deepening Sara’s understanding of the nature of clay.


Sculptures for this exhibition have been made over the last two years and will include her, 'Cats in Boats', 'Seven Deadly Sins', and 'Mental Constructs' series along with others. Each are an exploration of psychological states and human behaviour. Not only is this interest oriented outward, it is also a process of self-reflection. When animals feature, their traits and natures can be superimposed upon those of human beings. In the heart-mind-body continuum that is the forum for Sara’s work, Balance and Heart Meditation suggests some places of sanctuary from the hurly-burly of the material world.

The exhibition will run from Tuesday 29th October – Saturday 16th November. There will be an evening ‘meet the artists’ event on Friday 1st November 6 – 8 pm