GALLERY 1 + 2
TRUTH, LIES & ALIBIS – CHRISTINE KINSEY
6 DECEMBER – 28 FEBRUARY
Truth, Lies & Alibis is a retrospective exhibition from Welsh artist and author Christine Kinsey that explores the ways women have been portrayed in western Celtic / Christian culture. Through paintings, drawings, and film, Christine seeks to transform the traditional, gendered representation of how women are perceived, and how they perceive themselves.
Taking inspiration from her childhood in Pont-y-moel, Monmouthshire, Christine has developed a group of characters that inhabit her images. Growing up in an industrial valley in the south-east has been another significant influence, shaping a visual language that embodies the culture of Wales.
Against this backdrop each character performs a role, becoming guides and messengers that travel through space and time. Within images that act as portals into other visual worlds, their search to become the subject, rather than the object, of the image is revealed.
Each image forms a fragment of Christine’s ongoing creative process with the aim of bearing witness to the injustices women face, and the social and economic exploitation they endure across the world today. Describing this process as a journey of becoming, Christine hopes to connect with other women and create ways for their voices to be heard.
There will be an opening in the gallery on Saturday 6 December, 12-2pm, and the exhibition will run until the 28 February 2026.
Christine will be In Conversation, with arts practitioner and independent celebrant Gilly Adams, at the opening on Saturday 6 December, at 1pm. Book a free place here.
BIOGRAPHY
Christine Kinsey is an artist, author, curator and artistic director who has made a significant contribution to the arts in Wales.
She was Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, which was one of five finalists in the National Art Fund Museum of the Year Award 2025; Co-founder of Artists and Designers in Wales Association; and Artistic Advisor to Cardiff City Council on the re-development of Cardiff City Centre; as well as curating and organising a range of festival exhibitions internationally.
As an artist she has exhibited widely in major national and international touring exhibitions and has paintings in collections in Belgium, the Caribbean, Catalonia, Eire, England, Lithuania, Scotland, Switzerland, Wales, U.S.A.
Her work is represented in National Collections including: the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth; Glynn Vivian Art Gallery and Museum, Swansea; Contemporary Art Society of Wales, Cardiff; Newport Museum and Art Gallery, Newport, Gwent.
Published works:
Imaging the Imagination – An exploration of the relationship between the image and the word in the art of Wales, initiated and co-edited by Christine Kinsey with Dr Ceridwen Lloyd–Morgan. Published in 2005 by Gwasg Gomer.
HON Artistiaid Benywaidd Yng Nghymru / Women Artists in Wales, curated and edited by Christine Kinsey. Published in 2022 by the H’mm Foundation.
Truth, Lies & Alibis – Encounters with Christine Kinsey in Images and Words, published by the H’mm Foundation in 2023, and available in our Craft Shop alongside the exhibition.
