Fault Lines: Leamington Spa

Louise Brook
4 days ago
4 min read

Fault Lines Surface: Leamington Spa

An exciting new group exhibition at The Stoneleigh Arms

I am delighted that my mixed media volcano inspired abstract Playing With Fire I has been selected for an exciting new exhibition at The Stoneleigh Arms Arts Hub in Leamington Spa.

🎨 Fault Lines

📍 The Stoneleigh Arms Arts Hub, 31 Clemens Street, Leamington Spa, CV31 2DP

📅 Exhibition: Sunday 12 April – Sunday10 May 2026

🥂 Private View: Saturday 18 April, 6:30 – 8:30pm

I will be at the Private View and it would be lovely to see you there, if you are local.

Fault Lines: About The Exhibition

Fault Lines invites artists to explore points of tension, fracture, and instability; emotionally, socially, politically, materially, or geographically. This exhibition is concerned with moments where pressure builds, systems strain, and boundaries shift, revealing the stresses that shape people, places, and structures.

The artwork selected responds to ideas of rupture, division, transition, imbalance, and transformation and is open to a broad interpretation which might include: emotional breaking points, social or cultural divides, environmental fault lines, personal thresholds, or subtle cracks that signal change before it fully arrives.

Fault Lines may be construed as sites of vulnerability, resistance, or potential places where collapse and creation coexist. The artworks consider fracture, disruption, misalignment, instability, repair, resilience, or the slow accumulation of pressure over time; visible breaks and hidden stresses; or the spaces where opposing forces meet, rub, and reshape one another..

Playing with Fire I: The Artwork x The Exhibition Theme

Inspired by the dramatic imagery of the 2024 volcanic eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula, Playing With Fire I explores geological, emotional, and metaphorical tensions. The work captures a moment when immense subterranean pressure forces its way to the surface, exploring instability, thresholds, and transformation.

The artwork reflects the drama of a landscape pushed to breaking point. Bold composition and vivid forms evoke the volatile meeting of opposing forces: heat against rock, movement against stillness, creation against collapse. Created through an iterative process of addition and subtraction, building then eroding, the creative process is attuned to the way geological forces shape and reshape a landscape over time.

The textured surface, rich with layered mixed media and collage, echoes the hidden stresses that accumulate beneath the earth’s crust; pressures that remain unseen until they fracture, shift, or erupt. What appears at first glance as a bold, high‑impact composition gradually gives way to subtler details: fissures of colour beneath the surface, shifts in texture that hint at hidden pressures, and glimpses of earlier layers that remain partially concealed.

Playing With Fire I is a reflection on the universal nature of fault lines and invites viewers to consider unseen stresses and the delicate balance between stability and disruption. It speaks to the beauty and danger inherent in moments of instability, and to the transformative potential that emerges when boundaries are forced to realign and embodies the exhibition’s interest in fracture, disruption, and the creative energy that arises when systems strain and thresholds are crossed.

About The Artist

Louise Brook is a multidisciplinary artist based on the Northamptonshire–Oxfordshire borders, creating abstract work driven by a deep curiosity and a love of learning. Her practice blends research, storytelling, and discovery to form accessible narratives around complex themes, inviting viewers into conversations sparked by intrigue and exploration.

With a background in Psychology from UCL (2000) and a successful corporate career before moving into the arts in 2019, Louise brings a thoughtful, analytical lens to her creative process. Since 2022, she has exhibited across major UK cities including London, Nottingham, and Banbury, and has received recognition through awards such as SAA Artist of the Year 2024 (Highly Commended), Women United Art Prize 2024 (Longlisted), and multiple VAA and VAO long-listings. In 2025, she completed the New Platform Art Professional Development Programme.

Louise's inspiration is rooted in a broad, natural curiosity—drawing from current affairs, academic research, and the natural world, which she is passionate about protecting. Recurring themes include psychology, the layered complexity of human experience, and the beauty and fragility of nature.

Louise’s process is a balance of intuition and intention. Working primarily with acrylics and mixed media, she builds rich layers and textural detail that encourage viewers to explore the narrative within each piece. Collage plays an integral role, offering glimpses into the ideas, research, and evolution behind the work, and reinforcing her commitment to creating art that informs, engages, and invites discovery.

About The Stoneleigh Arms Art Hub

THE STONELEIGH ARMS is a community arts space dedicated to making the arts more accessible. It's run by Lighthaus Arts; a not-for profit Community Interest Company. We offer artist studio space, creative workshops and exhibition opportunities in Leamington Spa.

We know that an arts practice is not easy for the average person and our space exists to make it easier.

ART FOR EVERYONE

Because creativity should never be out of reach.

POWERED BY COMMUNITY

Shaped by the people who use it. Built on trust, care, and collaboration.

ARTIST-LED | GRASSROOTS

Run by artists, educators, and makers who believe in shared ownership and collective impact.

OUR PURPOSE

Lighthaus Arts CIC is a grassroots, artist-led organisation rooted in South Leamington Spa. We’re a community of artists, educators, and cultural workers creating a new kind of space—one that’s open, inclusive, and shaped by the people who use it.

Our purpose is simple but powerful: to make the arts more accessible, relevant, and empowering for everyone. We support local artists and creative practitioners at every stage of their journey, with a strong focus on those who’ve faced barriers—whether through financial hardship, mental health challenges, or systemic exclusion.

Through artist residencies, mentoring, studio space, exhibitions, and opportunities, we help creative people build sustainable careers and connect with others.

But our work goes beyond the studio. We collaborate with charities, grassroots groups, and residents to co-create programmes that respond directly to local need—from free workshops and creative outreach to community exhibitions and public art. Whether you’re an emerging artist, a local parent, or someone who’s never picked up a paintbrush before—there’s space for you here.

At Lighthaus, we believe that creativity belongs to everyone. And together, we’re building a space that proves it.