Nicole Chaffey, Introduced Species (detail), 2023. Oil on composite aluminium, 120 x 160cm. Courtesy: the artist and The Lock-Up, Newcastle.

feral is the coming to terms with the harsh and heartbreaking reality of inheritance.

Compelled to investigate long held family lore to uncover the true story behind her fleeter heritage, Nicole Chaffey discovered a much darker history of a lifetime of heinous acts, which left an indelible mark on the generations of women who followed. Eerily, and with uncanny timing, she unearthed a direct link to her ancestor, who was an inmate for a time, in The Lock-Up’s own cells.

Working across her familiar medium of abstract, yet representational, landscapes, Chaffey also delves into new ceramic works, presented in The Lock-Up’s front galleries.

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