Collision is a contemporary art exhibition at Seventh Circle Gallery, Birmingham, bringing together painters Emma Woolley and Tara Harris in a powerful exploration of memory, emotion, and the imagined inner worlds we carry.
Birmingham‑based portrait painter Emma Woolley creates intimate, emotionally charged figurative works that centre on connection, vulnerability, and the quiet tension between people. Her practice for Collision focuses on memory and lived experience, using the human figure as a vessel for emotional presence — what is felt rather than spoken. Woolley’s work has gained increasing recognition across the West Midlands, including a 2024 solo exhibition and a 2025 shortlist for the Women in Art Prize.
British painter Tara Harris brings a contrasting yet complementary visual language. Her atmospheric, otherworldly landscapes draw on memory, dream logic, and the subconscious, creating imagined environments shaped by emotional experience. For Collision, Harris uses space, ambiguity, and shifting forms to hold emotional truth, inviting viewers into inner terrains where meaning remains fluid and intuitive.
Together, Woolley and Harris create a dynamic dialogue between portraiture and landscape, presence and atmosphere, the personal and the imagined. Their practices do not mirror each other — and that is the point. Collision reveals the resonance that emerges when two artistic worlds meet at the threshold of the internal.
Inside Seventh Circle Gallery, their work generates a charged, immersive environment where reality blurs, emotion rises to the surface, and imagination takes over. This exhibition offers visitors a unique opportunity to experience contemporary painting in Birmingham through two distinct yet deeply connected artistic perspectives.
Join us for the private view on Saturday 6 June, 6pm–8pm, to experience the exhibition first and meet the artists - RSVP
Join our mailing list to follow the build‑up and behind‑the‑scenes activity.
Head to their dedicated website www.collision-woolley-harris.co.uk for a deeper dive into the ideas, graft, and preparation shaping the exhibition.