The Refractive Pool Book

The Refractive Pool Book forms part of the Refractive Pool project, established by Josie Jenkins and Brendan Lyons, to document and celebrate contemporary painting in Liverpool. It contains portraits of 38 artists currently based in and around the city. These unique, layered images were produced by combining new paintings with photographic portraits of each of the individual artists. These striking images are accompanied by the thoughts and words of the painters themselves. The book features the newly commissioned poem The Studio, written by Paul Farley and themed around his memories of the city and the practice of painting.

 

Josie Jenkins and Brendan Lyons are artists and co-founders of Refractive Pool. They live and work in Liverpool and both have exhibited widely across the UK. They are co-curators of the exhibition Refractive Pool: Contemporary Painting in Liverpool at The Walker Art Gallery in 2022.

Paul Farley is a Liverpool-born poet. His most recent collection The Mizzy was published by Picador in 2019.

BUY THE REFRACTIVE POOL BOOK

108 pages/softback/colour

£11.99 (FREE UK POSTAGE)

If you have a UK address you can buy the Refractive Pool book via Paypal by clicking the button below

If you do not live in the UK or would prefer to pay a different way please contact us at info@refractivepool.com and we will make arrangements.

The Story

In 2020 we launched a crowdfunding campaign to produce a Refractive Pool book, which was supported by over 100 backers.  The aim of the campaign was to produce a book that not only acts as a snapshot and lasting document of Liverpool’s current community of artists, but was also an exciting creative collaboration between the different disciplines of painting, photography and poetry. As artists ourselves we are passionate about sharing the vibrant art scene in the city with a wider audience; revealing what a diverse group of people these artists are and equally, just how varied and wide ranging their output is, while still remaining under the umbrella heading of contemporary painting.

We worked with almost 40 artists to produce this dynamic and creatively executed book, showcasing Liverpool based artists who make painting a significant part of their artistic practice. The book presents a diverse range of artists at different career points, who are working in and around Liverpool at this moment. Each artist produced a new painting for the book, which was combined with a photographic portrait of themselves using an innovative technique to produce a single image that represents them and their work in a unique way. The content of the publication is heavily image based, putting an emphasis on the visual, but also includes a new text by Liverpool born poet Paul Farley. writing on the dual subjects of painting and Liverpool. Paul’s writing, produced exclusively for Refractive Pool adds a new chapter to the catalogue of works by this award winning writer.

With this book we aim to raise the profile of the city’s contemporary painters, raising public awareness of the breadth of painting practice taking place in Liverpool. This book is the visual record and legacy that has been missing from the recent history of the area and the ‘go to’ document for anyone looking to explore the artistic fabric of the city.

We would like to thank everyone who supported the Refractive Pool book through our Kickstarter campaign.

Artists included in the Refractive Pool Book are:

Lucy Archer

Betarock75

Jacqui Chapman

Jay Chesterman

Pete Clarke

Joana De Oliveira Guerreiro

Fran Disley

Luke George

Cherie Grist

Charlotte Hill

Jason Hollis

John Hyatt

David Jacques

Nima Javan

Louis Jeck Prestidge

Josie Jenkins

Barbara Jones

Gareth Kemp

Anna Ketskemety

Karl Kolley

Brendan Lyons

Max Mallender

Richard Meaghan

Paul Mellor

Brian Mountford

Millie Olateju

Bernadette O’Toole

Zahra Parwez

Jon Pountain

James Quin

Arthur Roberts

The Singh Twins

Luke Skiffington

Tony Smith

Gary Sollars

Fiona Stirling

Emma Worth

Yumiaba Art