Esther Salamon

Woodland Bird Woman

Gallery Two

Saturday 4th October 2025, 12 - 5pm

Preview: Friday 26th September, 6 - 8pm

*Please note the change of date for the exhibition. It will only be open for one day and the preview event.

A posthumous exhibition by Esther Solaman made in collaboration with Robert Laycock and widower David Stephenson. Before she passed away in December 2023, Salamon described ‘Woodland Bird Woman’ as: 

“A multi-media performance which transposes and links a specific memory of a poignant, albeit unusual, activity undertaken by a child with that of an imagined fledgling bird, inextricably linking both activities and individual sensibilities. The activities and the music juxtapose the real with the surreal and aim to provide the audience with an opportunity to consider notions of death, ritual/memory and remembrance. This very personal piece [is designed to] resonate with the experience of young refugees who have lost members of their family in regions of conflict and who experience trauma.”

Although she did not live to see the work completed – by her collaborator Robert Laycock and widower David Stephenson – each of the various elements was determined by Esther herself and only in the latter stages were they interpreted by Robert and David.

Completed in May 2025, this is the first full installation of Woodland Bird Woman.

The preview included short introductions from collaborators David Stephenson and Robert Laycock, plus a post-film screening Q&A.

The exhibition was reviewed by Mridula Sharma for Corridor8. Click here to read the article.