Penny Slinger art exhibition

The Graphical Tree had the pleasure of working with the iconic feminist and surrealist artist Penny Slinger for her show at the Richard Saltoun Gallery in London's Mayfair.

The show Exorcism: Inside Out, is a solo exhibition by the pioneering LA-based, London-born artist and spans original photo-collage, print and video work. The exhibition coincided with the publication of Slinger’s iconic book, An Exorcism: A Photo Romance. The original version of the book was withheld from publication in the UK for censorship issues in the late 1970’s.

Exorcism: Inside Out is one of the most ambitious exhibitions ever realised at Richard Saltoun Gallery and inspired by Penny Slinger’s work for Dior's haute couture fashion show held in Paris in 2019. The experience is designed as an immersive audio-visual environment, with the entire gallery wrapped in images from the original An Exorcism series and presenting a spectacular evolution of the artist's vision.

An Exorcism is often hailed as Penny’s magnum opus, so we are especially pleased to have been entrusted with producing and installation of the graphics for the show.

An opening conversation always goes a long way in helping a job go smoothly. So after receiving the invitation to work on the exhibition graphics from the Richard Saltoun Gallery, our project manager who headed up the job met with Penny via video call at her base in Los Angeles. We talked about the artwork and scope of the installation, as well as some of the logistics involved such as when we would need the artwork, how to set it up for print, and some initial planning regarding the installation prior to the art being hung on-site.

The graphics included DiBond window graphics, and for the show environment itself, printed wall, floor and ceiling vinyl. These elements really help to set the scene and create an ambience within the gallery. As part of the process, we tested the vinyl material to ensure it would contour over the dado rail and skirting at the gallery, as well as advising on the paint to use on the gallery walls to ensure a safe installation of the prints.

The installation consisted of a team of four fitters over two days for the walls, plus a two-person team for a third day for finishing touches such as the ceiling clouds, vines and the floor graphics roots. Penny, who flew into London for the show, joined us on-site for the installation. We were able to work with her during the fitting, ad-libbing at times and making decisions to enhance the environment with additional instruction as the site came to life.

As all exhibitions should be, this is an experience to be felt and contemplated. We're super proud to have been involved.