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Arts Intel Report

Sarah Gillespie: Birded and Eyed

Sarah Gillespie, Antler Moth, 2026

June 20 – Sept 6, 2026
Manaccan, Helston TR12 6HU, United Kingdom

Working in drawing and mezzotint, a form of monochrome printmaking, Sarah Gillespie looks into the darkness to find the patterned wings of moths. Antler Moth, Clouded Magpie, Scalloped Oak, and Peppered Moth reveal their greytone camouflage in nature’s own Rorschach tests. Indeed the Peppered Moth is famous as the subject of studies that showed how its patterns blackened in response to the sooty Industrial Revolution—then changed back when the air began to clear in the 1960s. Gillespie’s practice is one of close, quiet observation, and her vision take in birds, water, and forests as well. Spent copper etching plates are part of the show, beautiful too. —Laura Jacobs

© Sarah Gillespie