Broth Art is delighted to present Heron, a group exhibition exploring the heron as a metaphor for quiet observation, the clandestine and humanity’s bond with the natural world. Bringing together work by ten artists, - Catherine Ward, Fiona MacRae, Graham Lister, Justine Formentelli, Kathleen Cottell, Lauren Bryden, Lucy Gray, Oran Wishart, Patricia Paolozzi Cain and Sarah J. Stanley - the exhibition takes inspiration from the letter The Herons written in 1997 by the renowned art critic and writer John Berger to Subcomandante Marcos, the leader of the Zapatista movement in Mexico.

The Herons is amongst a series of letters exchanged between Berger and Subcomandante Marcos, in which Berger expresses his support for the Zapatistas and their fight for indigenous rights and land autonomy in response to Mexico joining the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). NAFTA led to mass unemployment in Mexico’s agricultural sector due to heavily subsidised US corn imports, resulting in widespread poverty, mass migration to the USA and environmental degradation. Sharing the view that neoliberalism was eroding human rights and, at the same time, destroying the planet, Berger saw the Zapatista movement as an emblem of “resistance against the inhumanity of the new world economic order”.

In the letter, Berger describes a solitary heron that returns every spring to a secluded lake, which comes to serve as a motif for the Zapatistas. It speaks to the quiet strength and the clandestine nature of the Zapatista movement and their vision of an idealised future - one where they can live freely, free of violence and oppression, where communities live in harmony with nature, stewarding the land, not exploiting it.

Berger referenced herons in other writings. For him, they stood for quiet observation and the act of seeing itself, embodying a stillness and awareness that stood separate from the noise of modern day living. He invited the reader to slow down to the “beat of the heron’s wings”. Patiently waiting, poised in the murky pond, the heron reminds us that even in the face of overwhelming odds, there is strength in reflection and quiet action.

The exhibited artists in Heron present their own reflections. Lucy Gray’s I Smell Smoke - a charred wing made from burnt wood and 23c gold leaf, with a polished marble ball - is amongst the artworks that allude to the bird itself whilst emphasising resilience and universal themes such as the climate crisis. Ideas addressing human impact on the environment are also present in Fiona MacRae’s Doggerel (an assemblage work composed entirely of plastic fragments found on Scotland’s shoreline) and Catherine Ward’s What Remains (a painting of an old quarry mine in County Wicklow, Ireland).

In contrast, Lauren Bryden’s monotype The Dreamers, refers to a quote by Subcomandante Marcos, describing the Zapatistas as an ‘army of dreamers’. Instead of lamenting on the issues that engender the Zapatista movement, Bryden brings into visual form a world beyond the armed struggle.

The personification of the heron as the quiet observer is embodied in works by Graham Lister and Patricia Paolozzi Cain whose practice both lie in the process of looking beyond the visible. Other themes, such as clandestinity are explored in Justine Formentelli’s painting, Le Berceau de Demain, an ambiguous yet mystical sweep of land and water, conjuring notions of the subterranean and what may or may not lie beneath the surface. It not only denotes the heron’s habitat but references the underground nature of the Zapatistas’ struggle.

Meanwhile, Kathleen Cottell, Oran Wishart and Sarah J. Stanley all share their own personal reflections of the heron. For Cottell, her observations of herons, humans and other animals are about recognising ourselves in nature as well as cherishing nature’s many gifts. Sarah J. Stanley’s three drawings, accompanied by a poem, use the heron and its habitat (namely the river) as a vehicle to explore trauma, whilst Wishart transcends into the phenomenological. Recounting fleeting moments and feelings, his three paintings occupy a space that’s just out of reach, like reflections in the water - there but not.

Heron brings together multiple propositions, all of which critically engage with the letter written by John Berger to Subcomandante Marcos and the themes within it - quiet observation, the clandestine and the bond between humanity and the natural world. In the spirit of Berger’s call to slow down and observe, Heron invites us to take notice of the world we live in and recognise the part we play both in its destruction and its salvation.

About John Berger

John Berger (b.1926 – d. 2017) was a British art critic, theorist, novelist, painter and activist, best known for his groundbreaking work in visual culture. His 1972 television series and subsequent book Ways of Seeing revolutionised the way people interpret art, emphasising how social, cultural, and historical contexts influence our understanding of visual imagery. He won the Booker Prize in 1972 and famously donated half of the cash prize to the British Black Panthers, retaining the rest to fund research on migrant workers. Throughout his life he advocated emphatically for the rights of migrants, minorities and workers.

About Subcomandante Marcos

Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente (b. 1957), widely known by his nom de guerre Subcomandante Marcos, is a Mexican activist and the former leader and spokesperson of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). A scholar in philosophy and literature, Marcos was a lecturer at UAM in Mexico City for several years before joining the EZLN. During his time with the Zapatistas, all public appearances were made wearing a ski-mask and pipe, for which he became well known. His writings on politics, insurgence and indigenous rights have received much acclaim, celebrated for their humour and poetic style.

Notes to Editors

Dates: 1st - 4th May 2025

Opening Reception: Thursday 1 May 2025, 6pm-8pm

Location: Broth Art (Pop-up), 11 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX

Website: www.brothart.com

Details: At the opening reception, Nathania Hartley responds to the letter The Herons with spoken word. More details to follow.

Image: Lucy Gray ‘I Smell Smoke’ charred wood, gesso, 23c gold leaf and marble. Image courtesy of the artist.

For media inquiries, please contact: kim@brothart.com

Heron | Private View