Brenton Drechsler, Marylebone, 2025, oil on board, 102 x 76cm. Courtesy of MARS and the artist.

“For my inaugural exhibition with MARS Gallery, I decided to focus on places and themes that relate to both my English heritage and the darker side of my Queer cultural experiences, both positive and negative. Safe queer spaces were important to me as I grew into my natural identity as a late teen. Fostering a sense of connection to place, one where I feel like I belong, has become central to my practice. I am fond of revisiting and representing places that relate to my sense of self. In the beginning of 2024, I journeyed to the United Kingdom for a self-directed residency that investigated my English heritage. My intention for this journey was to consider my mother’s side of the family and how that effects my sense of place and purpose in English and Scottish urban culture. I relish the opportunity to wander the streets of places like Edinburgh, Notting Hill, Pembridge and Cornwall and consider how foreign or familiar I feel in each setting. By inserting my stripes into each foreign place visually, I plant the seeds for a future sense of nostalgic connection, upon revisiting. My stripes do what I am not comfortable doing myself and that is standing out, taking up space and attracting attention.”

~ Brenton Drechsler

Opening event: Thursday 13 March, 6-8pm