Lesley Barnes and Ross McAuley: Fashion Play

This summer, collaborators Lesley Barnes and Ross McAuley will present their largest exhibition to date, featuring brand-new fashion-inspired artworks at Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP).

Playful sculptures and large-scale mobiles will feature bold patterns and eye-catching colour combinations. These fashionable characters are joyfully dressed in extravagant headdresses, bulbous skirts, and oversized sleeves. Guaranteed to be a hit with visitors of all ages, Fashion Play includes the debut display of the duo’s largest mobiles.

This vibrant exhibition will include 33 beautifully designed, handmade wooden sculptures and six mobiles with perfectly contrasting colours, spots and stripes. The one-of-a-kind artworks are all for sale, with prices ranging from £250 to £850.

The YSP Visitor Centre will be adorned with vinyl illustrations and fabric hangings, printed at the internationally renowned Glasgow School of Art. Visitors will be immersed in the world of Barnes and McAuley. Gallery walls will pop with colour, large mobiles hang in the shop window, and sculptures pose on patterned plinths.

Barnes is an illustrator from Glasgow, Scotland, and McAuley is a painter from Toronto, Canada. Together, they collaborate to create sculptural work that explores how form, colour, and shape can dance in space.

Lesley Barnes and Ross McAuley said: “We were so honoured to be asked to have a show at Yorkshire Sculpture Park as we consider it to be the ‘home’ of sculpture in the UK. I think it gave us the confidence to develop our small-scale sculptural work and has pushed us to try some new approaches to our practice. ‘Fashion Play’ represents the largest collection of work we have ever produced for an exhibition. We really wanted to capture the sense of endless possibility and adventure that fashion can offer. We hope our combinations of shapes, colours and pattern leave visitors with a sense of joy.”

The exhibition is inspired by Barnes’ most recent book, Fashion Play (Counter-Print Books, 2024), an interactive publication for lovers of fashion, colour and pattern. The book is divided into three sections, allowing readers to playfully mix and match outfits, creating an endless fashion playground.

All works in Fashion Play are for sale, with proceeds shared between the artists and YSP. A selection of sustainably sourced pin badges, imaginative magnets, sticker sets and a limited edition print will be available to purchase from YSP Shops, online and onsite.

YSP is a registered charity and accredited museum in West Yorkshire. All proceeds from sales help YSP to share incredible art and continue to create meaningful, enjoyable experiences for everyone in a unique environment.

Vinyl signage for Fashion Play is generously supported by ashleigh.