Manchester-based artist Gabriel Kidd is inspired by the queerness of figures from fairy-tale and folklore, often returning to the stories of myth and legend as he explores the formation of Queer identity. Gathering pieces of ephemera, grass, stone and bark from the Saddleworth Moor north of Manchester, Kidd makes assemblages, textiles and drawings that exist somewhere between the fantastical and the real.

Ahead of his exhibition at Pipeline in January 2023, Kidd introduces his practice with the work Beneath the Mountains (2022). This piece comprises a drawing of a mythical ogre, installed above a pile of soil, and is accompanied by a poem by the artist that speaks to the ogre’s fortunes. The lonely ogre, born from stone, has never encountered another like itself. From their mountain home, the ogre has watched as trees have grown, shed their seeds and blossomed into new life. Venturing from their cave, the ogre collects materials to plant that they hope will become new ogres in turn.

For Kidd, the misunderstood ogre is an alter ego of sorts. Through the gathering of objects, Kidd explores the construction of Queer identity and narratives over time. Kidd’s practice centres upon these notions of collecting and the building of worlds. In this way, Beneath the Mountains provides a perfect introduction, as a deeply personal reflection of the artist and the formation of self through the eyes of the feared and outcast ogre.