ADORNED

ARTIST: Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva and Lorna Johnson
CURATOR: Court Spencer
DATE: Jun - Aug 2025
VENUE: Eye Room, Leeds

Adorned brings together the work of artists Elpida Hadzi-Vasileva and Lorna Johnson in an exhibition about materiality, value and transformation. Both artists draw on traditions of embellishment, yet their approaches are distinct, and it is in this contrast that a thoughtful conversation emerges.

Elpida works with 23.5 carat gold leaf, transforming organic waste materials into sculptural forms that invite reverence and reflection. Her practice elevates the discarded, drawing attention to what is often hidden or overlooked, and imbuing it with new meaning.

Lorna, in contrast, uses low-value, mass-produced or temporary materials to question our perceptions of worth. Through careful construction and aesthetic sleight of hand, she challenges viewers to reassess what they see and what they assume about luxury, status and permanence. Her work often plays with deception and surprise, prompting a closer look that reveals the gap between appearance and substance.

Their work offers a meditation on what we value and why, encouraging us to reconsider our assumptions about beauty, authenticity and the stories objects tell. While materially distinct, both artists engage in acts of transformation, revealing the power of surface, structure and symbolism to shift how we see and feel. The result is an exhibition that asks us to look more closely, not only at the work itself but at the values we bring to it.