Revealing hidden LGBTIQ+ histories @ Canada Gallery - ‘Invisible Portraits’ painted by Lucy Ash

The High Commission of Canada in the United Kingdom, in collaboration with Southampton City Art Gallery, presents a new exhibition at Canada Gallery with artist Lucy Ash. Invisible Portraits brings together cultural figures whose lives reflect both visibility and erasure, such as poet Wilfred Owen and filmmaker Derek Jarman, alongside a series of deeply personal works developed by the artist following the tragic homophobic assault on Ian Baynham in Trafalgar Square in 2009. The exhibition highlights the ongoing struggle for equality, freedom and social justice.

Working in oil, mixed media and film, she develops series of works, weaving personal stories with themes of time and concealment to explore love, loss, death and injustice. Works in this exhibition created in Ian’s memory include a portrait in oil on linen of Ian’s sister Jen Baynham, and a 31-minute film addressing grief, violence, and the lasting impact of loss.

Ian’s death was the catalyst for a deeper study of the history of concealment and erasure. Portraits of cultural figures, including Derek Jarman and Simeon Solomon, reflect lives shaped by both creative brilliance and social constraint, while portraits of artists, including Keith Vaughan and Duncan Grant, draw attention to the necessity of living partially hidden lives in the face of criminalisation and stigma.

The Canada Gallery exhibition follows on from a major collaboration between Lucy Ash and Southampton City Art Gallery between 2020 and 2023, where the artist engaged with works by LGBTIQ+ artists in the collection. Selected works from that exhibition are shown here, including two large-scale panels from the Southampton community-led Portraits of Inspiration project, which celebrate LGBTIQ+ role models on both sides of the Atlantic, and point to LGBTIQ+ progress as not just an individual but collective effort.

Lucy Ash: Invisible Portraits is presented by Canada Gallery, from Thursday 4 June to Saturday 3 October 2026.

Category: Arts | Visual Arts | Galleries / Art

Artist: Lucy Ash