Six Objects in Search of an Artist

You can visit Warrington Museum & Art Gallery many times and still find something you have not noticed before.

That sense of discovery is at the heart of a new exhibition by North West artist Michelle Leigh, who has taken inspiration from some of the museum’s more unusual objects and turned them into a fresh series of paintings.

Six Objects in Search of An Artist is a free exhibition at Warrington Museum & Art Gallery, running until Sunday 1 November 2026. It brings together paintings inspired by selected items from the museum’s eclectic collection — and invites us to look at familiar objects in a completely different way.

A collection full of stories

Michelle told me that the exhibition began with a series of visits to Warrington. What struck her was the museum’s character: the unexpected combinations of objects, the sense of history, and the way each display can prompt a different question or story.

Among the objects that caught her imagination were a recycled fish sculpture by contemporary artist Val Hunt, a fragment from an Egyptian coffin, a taxidermied ibis, a snake and botanical models. Rather than simply reproducing what she saw, Michelle has used them as starting points for something more imaginative.

“They’ve all got stories of their own,” she said. “Maybe this is an opportunity… to see the objects in my paintings as almost protagonists, with a life of their own.”

That is what makes the exhibition so intriguing. You might spot an ibis or a snake in a painting, but their role has changed. They are no longer simply museum pieces; they become part of a wider story, appearing alongside people, myths and details from present-day life.

Myth meets modern life

The title itself is a nod to Luigi Pirandello’s play Six Characters in Search of an Author, in which six characters seek someone to complete their story. Michelle’s six chosen objects are, in a sense, doing something similar: finding a new life through paint, imagination and narrative.

One of Michelle’s favourite works in the exhibition is Narcissa by the Water’s Edge, one of the largest paintings she created for the show.

The work reimagines the myth of Narcissus, but with a modern twist.

Here, the central female figure is Narcissa, and rather than gazing into a pool at her own reflection, she is looking at a selfie. An ibis and a snake, both drawn from the objects Michelle selected in the museum, also feature in the painting.

It is a smart, playful idea that connects an ancient myth with the way we see and present ourselves today. Michelle said the painting took weeks to complete and gave her the challenge of working with a figure on a much bigger scale.

The joy of slowing down

The exhibition features oil paintings on canvas, from smaller works to larger pieces that make an immediate impact on the gallery walls. Michelle describes oil paint as a living medium because it can be moved and worked for longer, giving the artist time to build up surfaces, details and atmosphere.

Of course, the calm and polished gallery setting hides the messy reality of creating the work. Michelle laughed about the studio process — the overalls, gloves and wet wipes — but also spoke about the feeling of being able to lose yourself in the world you are making.

For visitors, there is a similar opportunity to pause. You do not need a great deal of time or expert art knowledge to enjoy the show. It is simply a chance to step away from a busy day, look closely and allow your own imagination to take over.

A hidden treasure in town

Michelle described Warrington Museum as a “hidden treasure box” — somewhere that may not shout loudly from the outside, but reveals all sorts of surprises once you walk through the door. She even compared it to the magic of Mr Benn, where stepping into a room can take you into a completely different world.

That feels like an apt description of Six Objects in Search of An Artist. It starts with objects that already have a place in Warrington’s story, then gives them another chapter — one filled with colour, myth, memory and a little bit of the unexpected.

The exhibition is free to visit at Warrington Museum & Art Gallery until Sunday 1 November 2026. Full details are available via Culture Warrington.