LIGHT UP THE DARK: SUNNY BANK MILLS CELEBRATES THE MANY MOODS OF LIGHT IN NEW EXHIBITION

As the days grow shorter and winter approaches, a new exhibition at Sunny Bank Mills is inviting visitors to experience light in a different way.

Soft Light brings together paintings, photography, film, sculpture, installations and contemporary craft by UK-based artists and makers, exploring the powerful ways that  light can shape how we feel and experience the world.

Running until 24 December 2026, the exhibition transforms the Gallery into a celebration of light at its most atmospheric, from the glow of neon and illuminated sculpture to fleeting moments of moonlight, nocturnal landscapes and the quiet illumination of domestic spaces.

Anna Turzynski, Arts Director at Sunny Bank Mills, said: “This time of year always makes me feel reflective. As the seasons change, I regularly arrive at the Gallery before the sun comes up and leave after it has set, and I find myself craving natural light. This exhibition is built around the desire to slow down and recognise that sensation.

“The artists involved have all expertly observed light in its various forms and I can’t wait for visitors to spend time basking in the soft light of the show.”

The exhibition features work by Alan Stones, April Key, Hannah Guy, Hannah Slater, Helina Bassey, Jay Caskie, Jessie Butler, Joanna Byrne, Marcus Jacka, Orla Kane, Paul Merrick and Scarlet Brown alongside a Soft Light Zine Library showcasing work by a further group of artists and makers. Central to the exhibition, Artist and Maker Zoë Eady has created a shadow puppet theatre for people to enjoy whilst they visit the Gallery.

For many of the artists, the exhibition has offered an opportunity to reflect on the relationship between light, place, memory and the everyday.

Multidisciplinary artist Jessie Butler said: “My installation, Houses Still Lit, came from an interest in the way buildings change visually at certain times of day as they reflect and interact with light. The houses I have recreated are based on places I have lived in while in Leeds, and through photographing and rebuilding them, I became interested in how familiar buildings can become ambiguous at different times of day.

“It is this act of noticing small and brief changes in the everyday that I wanted to capture through my work.

“It feels particularly meaningful to be exhibiting this work at Sunny Bank Mills, having lived in Leeds and drawn inspiration from the surrounding area. Bringing these familiar spaces into another part of the city feels like a natural continuation of the work and its connection to place.”

Glasgow-based artist Orla Kane has taken a similarly slow and contemplative approach to her paintings in the exhibition. She said: “I usually work on my paintings over an extended time. The larger works in the show, Rain Duct (under rainbows) and After Rain, were first started in the early summer of 2025 and I have been revisiting them every couple of months, painting intuitively and responding to each layer of paint.

“My cycle of painting is very meditative and draws on the everyday. Reflections on weather, place and mood are all considered and, over time, layered over one another. Working slowly across seasons, I find my paintings allude to the passing of time and materials touching the surface of my work.

“I’m delighted to be part of Soft Light. The show has made me think about how my work considers this transitional time of year, the shorter days and fading light. Working often late into the night as winter approaches, my work becomes flooded with artificial light; colder hues of paint compete with the warm feelings of retreat and hibernation.

“Soft Light is a lovely opportunity to bring together interior and exterior worlds during this changing of season.”

Photographic artist Hannah Guy explores the way artificial light can transform familiar surroundings after dark. She said: “My work in Soft Light grows from a longstanding interest in dreams, shared social memory and the nocturnal. The locations of my exhibited photographs were inspired by those slower evening winter commutes and cycles home through North and East Leeds, where I began noticing how small shifts in light could texturally transform familiar places after dark: a warmly lit window with a cat, another window with coloured pink and blue LEDs spilling into the street, or a puddle catching an unexpected blue glow.

“There were lots of ways the light spoke to noticing new things in the mundanities of the everyday. I’m interested in how light can communicate feelings and memories, and in what emerges when darkness is no longer whole.

“It was a pleasure to be included in such a fantastic exhibition line-up and so great to see work relating to light in a brilliantly curated show. I especially enjoyed how everyone’s work approached the theme so differently and vastly, such a high-quality variety of beautiful paintings and installations.”

With its focus on reflecting the changing seasons, Soft Light offers a timely invitation to pause and notice the light that surrounds us whether it is the last traces of daylight, the glow from a window on a winter evening, or the artificial light that guides us through the darker months.

The exhibition is also accompanied by a programme of events, including the Soft Light Sessions in collaboration with The Spinning Room Hi-Fi – a series of listening events exploring sound and atmosphere; a found film club screening; and a sound bath, extending the exhibition’s themes beyond the visual and into sound, stillness and sensory experience.

Soft Light is open in the Gallery, Sandsgate Building, Sunny Bank Mills, Farsley, LS28 5UJ, Tuesday-Sunday 10am-4pm until 24th December. Closed on Mondays. FREE ENTRY.

For more information about Soft Light visit: https://www.sunnybankmills.co.uk/arts/gallery/soft-light/

Sunny Bank Mills is one of the most exciting and respected cultural and community hubs in the Yorkshire region. It is home to an acclaimed contemporary Art Gallery, a large artists’ studio community, a textile Museum & Archive, and with many other creative independent businesses on site. This Living Mill of the North is situated in the heart of the thriving village of Farsley in West Leeds.

Images: Supplied by Sunny Bank Mills. Free picture usage.