Arusha Gallery
Morwenna Morrison
07.Feb.24 – 08.March.24

Morwenna Morrison’s paintings play with layering and juxtaposition to explore themes of memory, nostalgia, and the passage of time. Her work reflects on the ways we hold onto personal and shared histories to make sense of the world.

Play-Time rewinds to childhood, the space where imagination is formed. As children, we make sense of the world through repetition, play, and storytelling. Morrison’s paintings follow a similar rhythm—beginning with familiar objects placed in conversation with each other, then developing through a playful, instinctive process that unearths deeper connections to the past.

Using a mix of found and handmade objects, Morrison constructs tableaus that function as metaphors, cautionary tales, or surreal fragments of memory. These pieces speak both to her personal past and to universal childhood experiences. The tabletop, a recurring motif, represents the domestic world—a child’s first stage for experimenting, imagining, and making sense of reality. Some paintings feature classical backdrops, hinting at inherited narratives and recurring themes in human history. They suggest that while societies evolve, certain lessons are either learned or lost, with echoes of the past always present in our surroundings, objects, and subconscious.