With the exhibition Skylarking at Soft Ground, Sheffield-based artist and DJ Ashley Holmes brings us with him through a journey of what it means to ‘belong’, and the pivotal parts that both music and local landscapes play in that.

One of the things that immediately strikes me on entering the exhibition is its carefully crafted use of space. It's one of the benefits of Arts Catalyst's Soft Ground venue on The Moor: it's spacious. Holmes fills this expanse with a curation of his visual and sonic inspirations from throughout his artistic career, as well as collaborations with creative peers including the writers Wemmy Ogunyankin and Akeem Balogun.

Vinyl records adorn the walls, a homage to Holmes's musical influences – from reggae to jungle and sound system culture. They also act as miniature portraits, in terms of the colourful aesthetics of the album covers but also as a window into how musical legacy – and in particular, Black British sound – has shaped artists of today.

The centrepiece of the exhibition is an immersive enclosure with speakers and comfortable seating that invites you to melt into it. It acts almost like a sound bath – but instead of gongs, you have sound systems. Blending the natural sounds that’d you’d expect from a walk through the Peak District with overlays of dub tracks.

This mixing of nature and the heavily produced carries throughout the exhibition. Pixelated backdrops distort local landscapes. Radio static plays over the sounds of bird song. It's a meeting of two things that aren’t often seen as belonging together: urban culture and the rural British countryside.

Skylarking is the type of exhibition that gives back as much as you put in. And so, take the time to settle down and savour its rich soundscape, to appreciate the bridge Holmes has built here between two of his biggest influences.

As someone of Black heritage who grew up a mere 15 minute drive from the hills and caves of the Peak District, I understand what Ashley Holmes wants to tell me with Skylarking. Showing and honouring the two sides of identity: where you’re from, and where you find belonging. And I invite anyone who may not have a similar background to myself or Holmes to make the trip to Soft Ground, to listen, to look, and to build out their understanding of this perspective.

Related events:

• Skylarking Workshop #2 – Mixing with DJ MYNA, 6 April, Soft Ground
• Sounds from the Ground: Nkisi, KMRU, Ashley Holmes – performance, 16 May, SADACCA

Keep an eye on Arts Catalyst's event listings for more updates on workshops, performances and more that open up the themes explored in Skylarking.

Skylarking is part of The Mouth in collaboration with Sheffield Museums – two exhibitions that unearth cavities, portals and openings in the landscape through image and sound. The Mouth continues at the Millennium Gallery with Ways of Water.

For information about access at Soft Ground and travel, see the Arts Catalyst website.

• Words by
• Armarni Lane Turton

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