just a few favourite things
Niomi Sands
18 May - 31 May 2026
'just a few favourite things' is a proposed exhibition that explores the collections of treasured objects people choose to surround themselves with.
Drawing inspiration from the iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein song “My Favourite Things” (1959), the exhibition investigates the stories, memories, and emotional connections embedded within everyday possessions, highlighting the ways in which objects become vessels of identity and meaning. As part of her research, Sands will invite friends and colleagues to reflect on their lives by asking:“What objects best represent your life, and what are your three favourite colours?” This deceptively simple question has already sparked rich and meaningful conversations, revealing the deep personal significance of objects both ordinary and extraordinary.
The images of these collected items form the foundation for artworks that function as intimate portraits of their owners, weaving together identity, memory, and material culture. 'just a few favourite things' comprises of a number of interconnected works exploring presence, absence, and memory.
The first work features object silhouettes sewn into 600gsm Arches paper, cut away to leave delicate stitched lines suspended with entomology pins and displayed on two circular floor risers, a wall based installation of paper discs bordered with hand-sewn blanket stitches that evoke domestic craft and transform absence into care and reverence and a number of framed works on paper. Together, the works weave collective memory and lived experience, highlighting the universal impulse to treasure and narrate the objects that shape our lives.
Opening Event:
