EVENT: An Exhibition of Illustrative Maps

Drawn in Bristol are delighted to announce an exciting collaborative exhibition by Aidan Meighan and Hannah Bailey. The artists present a collection of maps and mazes, taking you on a meandering tour of faraway places, imagined places, and some very close to home. Brought together by a love of maps and a shared fascination with gardens, heritage sites and landscapes, this exhibition was the perfect excuse for Aidan and Hannah to go on as many adventures and explorations as possible. From the imagined landscapes of books, to that of an allotment bursting with life, the rooftops of Florence and a derelict 18th Century pleasure garden in Somerset, these maps will draw you in with their fantastic detail and the many stories that they have to tell. 

Both artists exhibit a selection of their own solo work, alongside several collaborative pieces, showing a fascinating insight into how their two styles can be combined to create a range of different results. Hannah and Aidan both feel that their work is enhanced by the sharing of their ideas and handiwork. This collaboration would perhaps be less effective if Hannah and Aidan were more similar in their working methods. Luckily perhaps, they are the opposite; Aidan works in a meticulous and careful way, displaying an astonishing attention to detail, with a clean desk and sharpened pencils, whilst Hannah burrows through heaps of tracing paper and old scraps to find what she needs to create her stencils, filled with texture and colour. The combination of the two leads to the creation of an entirely different and very satisfying result, and depending on who's art work is created first, to be added to by the other, can entirely alter the look of a drawing. 

Aidan and Hannah are freelance illustrators, living and drawing together in Bristol. Their bedroom doubles up as a studio, so that too often masking tape is found in the bed and socks in the desk drawers. This room is also home to their collection of prints and maps, postcards, newspaper cuttings and unusual books, leaving them little space, but giving them a constant source of inspiration. 

The exhibition will be running until the end of September in the Green Room at the Tobacco Factory. The private view, on Thursday 5th September begins at 7pm for an evening of maps and music provided by Jackson & Griffiths, a three-piece skiffle band who are also members of the Slap Ya Mama Big Band. 

Visit the event page here