Lost & Found : Solo Exhibition, Assembly Arts, Lancaster

Assembly Arts are privileged to be hosting the first solo exhibition by artist Lela Harris. In her show ‘Lost and Found’ Harris tells her own story for the first time. Growing up in Manchester Harris recalls a childhood faced with difficulty. Experiencing such an upbringing, Harris remembers existing in her own manifestation of safety and creativity, distanced from the everyday difficulties of reality. Harris’ paintings in ink relay a subdued and distant nostalgia, an uncertain past constructed by fleeting memories, unsure if they are real or imagined. As such Harris creates work that retells the stories of others.  The stories of those who have been forgotten through history or whose stories have been otherwise neglected.  

Harris’ previous exhibitions include ‘Facing the Past’ at the Judges Lodgings in Lancaster, wherein she was commissioned to paint the portraits of Black enslaved people who lived in the city during the 18th century. Reliant on extensive research, these portraits depict the experiences of individuals who were sold by merchants in Lancaster. The series highlights the deep and unequivocal role that the city played in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, whilst simultaneously shining a light on the Black people whose lives and stories have been dehumanised and overlooked.  ‘Facing the Past’ was shortlisted for the Decolonising Museum Award at the Museums Change Lives in 2023.  In 2021 Harris was commissioned to illustrate the new edition of Alice Walkers’ ‘The Color Purple’, by the Folio Society.  Banned in American schools until 2013, ‘The Color Purple’ tells the story of the life of a young African American woman in 1930’s Georgia. The book cemented the importance for Harris of being a voice for the people in our history who have not been allowed the space to be remembered. Influenced by the renowned female artisans and quiltmakers of Gee’s Bend, in Alabama, Harris’ book cover was shortlisted for the V&A Illustration Awards in 2021 whilst she is currently working on illustrations for James Baldwins’ ‘Giovannis Room’ to be published later this year. 

Harris holds a series of influences on her work. As a self-taught artist Harris is inspired by her contemporaries including British portrait artists Barbara Walker and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, both of whom are distinguished figurative painters who reflect on Black peoples’ stories within Britain and the wider diaspora through human and historical perspectives. Harris implores the importance that drawing holds within her practice, stating how it allows her to feel more connected to the subject matter. Using monotonal mediums such as pencil, graphite and ink, her works evoke an expression of simplicity that in turn allows Harris to capture her subjects with both wistful sensitivity and genuine compassion. 

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