Inspiration comes from Hastings Pier

Danny Pockets has been working out of his studios in St Leonards for a decade, originally based in London, his work has been exhibited in major contemporary galleries, including Tate Modern and Tate Britain, The Foundry, Scream Editions, Underdog, The De La Warr and The Towner Gallery.

The two main works in this show, are the Phoenix Arcadia paintings, made as part of The Jerwood South Coast Prize which Pockets won in 2010.

The award enabled him to make these pieces, inspired by Eugenius Birch’s Peerless Pier.

A month before the show opened the Pier was set fire to. Devastated, Pockets almost called the show off, then realised, as the flames died down, that the charcoal from the debris that had washed up along the shore, could be used in his work.

Nearly all the works in the show use charcoal from the old Pier as a structural tool in the design, drawing and making of the pieces.

With the Pier as the main focus of the exhibition, Pockets has travelled along the coastline of Sussex and Kent exploring the British seaside’s identity. He has travelled the coast in 50 miles East and West, focusing on his fascination with the architecture of leisure: the engineering of the pier, abandoned watchtowers and amusement arcades, the Chip shops and Novelty concessions and fairground rides. Brighton, Camber, Dover, Margate et al. The show will feature paintings and prints made especially for the gallery in Norman Road.