COLLECTING WOMEN

Chantale Delrue Rosny Cottage Rosny Farm, Rosny Hill Road Ends tomorrow

Collecting Women is just beautiful. Chantale Delrue has combined research into herbal practices with her own drawings, paintings and textiles to create a rich show that explores her relationship with her mother. The artist mixes this emotional, moving story with much larger ideas about women’s secret knowledge, passed through family lines. Delrue made a crucial decision to place her work in the historical Rosny cottage, and has worked very hard to integrate her work into the space, so you have to really look to discern where her work stops and the heritage starts — but this blurring is what makes Collecting Women successful and involving. There’s a huge amount of varied works, but really this is one large, clever, wise installation that celebrates female connections and knowledge.