Alison Stirling (with Keziah Reddick) - Flight Exhibition

Welcome to the Flight Exhibition, a selection of artists’ mobiles celebrating Dagenham’s history of aviation and its transmigratory population. Eleven artists and eleven writers explore this multi-layered theme during March and April at the Pink Tardis Gallery, Heathway Shopping Centre, Dagenham. 

Stare through the Pink Tardis window and marvel at these suspended sculptures, prototypes, and conceptual clouds. If you can't see the exhibition in person then don't worry, we'll be featuring all seventeen artworks here on the website. Every artwork has its very own dedicated writer, and we'll publish their responses here throughout March and April 2026.

We have Alison Stirling's neat folded sculpture in the Pink Tardis Gallery today. The folded paper grasps the disc as if hanging onto the world whilst its repeated phrase 'Flight' covers every plane and surface, a plea and a statement in multiple languages. This potent little sculpture is presented here on the Collect Connect website on the day after a massive coming together in London of hundreds of thousands of people, gathering rather than flying and offering welcome to those who are themselves having to take flight in an unstable world.

Alison Stirling

Keziah Reddick provides us with today's words.

Small hands grasp at the world, iridescent and bronzed.

Birds fall from the sky and plummet with their weight.

High above, machines fly and fly, churning through the air,  

choking out thick trails of grit and gas.

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Alison Stirling's work investigates the coexistence of nature and the built up environment; where urbanity encroaches on natures and vice versa in liminal or forgotten spaces. Her interest lies in subverting the genre of landscape painting as ‘scenic view’. She uses photography, collage and art historical references to reimagine landscape in its elemental form. Her paintings evoke a dreamlike quality of both trepidation and equanimity. Alison has exhibited her work internationally including: The Royal Academy of Arts Mall Galleries; Brunswick Art Gallery; Unit 1 Gallery, London. She is a featured Artist for Collective Arts Canada.
https://www.alisonstirling.com/

Keziah Reddick is studying Fine Art and has a burgeoning interest in visual narratives and classical storytelling.

Keziah Reddick - Translocation Dislocation (words by Ed Arantus)

Welcome to the Translocation and Dislocation exhibition, a selection of eclectic artworks that have been placed or screened beyond the tradition gallery walls. Alongside the art, you can read written works by our First Responders. We will choose a different location for each artwork, the art might be placed in a complementary location (to add to the narrative) or juxtaposed against a competing backdrop to create new meaning.

Keziah Reddick's astronaut sits high above us. We don't often take the time to consider the hidden objects and mystery narratives floating way up there! Ed Arantus muses on the missing canines that may still be lost in space, read his words below.

Keziah Reddick

First Responder: Ed Arantus

Oleg called out to them. They never answered back but they always returned. He called their names into the radio, Belka, Strelka, Dezik, and Tsygan. 

He kept calling out to Laika. 

Cats did not tolerate flight conditions, monkeys were, in fact, problematic. Stray dogs were hardier than the purebreds. So they decided that a pack of Moscow street mutts would be the first cosmonauts.

Laika! 

Bobik escaped just before the mission, so Oleg was put in charge. He cared for the pack, and they loved him. They say that dogs possess such human qualities as courage and loyalty, but they are better than any humans he has ever met. 

Laika!

He climbs as high as he can, and still calls,

Laika!

Laika, please come back.

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Keziah Reddick is an artist who works across a range of media. She has a particular interest in telling stories through her art. She has a passion for stories from ancient civilisations.

Ed Arantus is a conceptual artist and writer. He published his first work in the Censored Zine in 2010 and has exhibited his work ever since at venues like the Contemporary Arts Research Unit in Oxford and the Museum of Futures in Surbiton.
https://edarantus.blogspot.com

Alertism - Kezia Reddick

Welcome to the Alertism exhibition, featuring artistic and literary works that were inspired by the Emergency Alert test message that was sent to people with a mobile device on Sunday 23rd April at 3pm.

Kezia Reddick is our artist of the day today. She has been exhibiting with us since 2010, taking part in many of our magnetic art shows, when CollectConnect first hit the streets. She is currently an art student with a very bright future. Our First Responder is Coral Chambers, read her response under Kezia's image.

Kezia Reddick

First Responder: Coral Chambers

My 1st reaction was.......aw bless him ( the little rat) he's trying to understand the images on the mobile - They changed rapidly when I saw the newspaper above him. I  thought someone is going to hit him with it !  This triggered thoughts of anger. Thoughts of  speciesium, the way people treat animals based on their species, how if he was a puppy the reaction would be different. Then I saw the images on the phone he is looking at.  This made me think how little we think about our actions  and how they affect the animals that are just trying to live their lives and survive. So the image sparked initially, joy, that quickly turned to deep sadness.

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Keziah Reddick is an artist who works across a range of media. She has a particular interest in telling stories through her art. She has a passion for stories from ancient civilisations.

Keziah Reddick - Dream Dwelling

Dream Dwelling

Welcome to the Dwell exhibition and book. For a whole month we will be taking each artist's page and transforming it into a 3 dimensional dwelling. Each one of these small sculptures will be exhibited in public on the London streets.



An old wall Regents Canal, Kings X

Following on from our cricketing all rounder yesterday our next artist is Keziah Reddick with her 'Dream Dwelling' . Keziah has taken part in several Magnet Exhibitions and her art work is always based on her strong drawing ability and clever use of words. 

Keziah is also an aspiring sportswoman who can be found hanging from improbable holds at indoor climbing walls, a keen swimmer, runner and a developing cricketer and swing bowler. It is apt then that Keziah's sweet Dream Dwelling is placed here in this lovely old wall (which Keziah says is very climbable) alongside the Regents Canal at Kings Cross.





Dreams in Dream Dwelling



Dream Dwelling nestles snuggly in the small hole in the wall. Whatever the original purpose of the socket we found it to be the perfect spot for the Net as it suggests a small dark room, perhaps a rather cave like space for dreaming. Keziah's net is complete with a bed and mattress, pillow and several dream images which can be stored inside the bed itself. The dream vampire rests on top of the mattress, its undead head laying on the pillow under which one can find a tooth, waiting perhaps for the tooth fairy to collect. One wonders what might happen if a vampire and the tooth fairy met: anything is possible in the Dream Dwelling. The Net includes a space for us to draw our own dreams to add to the Net.

 

Dream Dwelling also conjures up another set of associations, the parlance of estate agents and property developers with their own versions of a 'Dream Dwelling'. The Kings Cross area itself has seen massive re development in recent years and no doubt there have been plenty of 'Dream Dwellings' available to buy in London's over inflated property market.

Don't forget to have a look at the next Collect Connect project, 'The Art of Caring' exhibition at The Rose Theatre in Kingston-upon-Thames. The theme is Caring/Care and it is FREE to enter.

To buy the Dwell Book for £6 then follow this LINK.