BSMT Space Gallery once again played host to a returning artist whose work continues to evolve. Known for blending digital processes with a more painterly practice, Rosie Wood’s latest show, Digital Detox, marks a shift in her work.
Where previous exhibitions leaned heavily into technology, 3D modelling, animation and digital composition.This new body of work strips all of that away. In its place, a more analogue practice. One that seeks inspiration from the immediate world around her.
Stepping Away from the Screen
Stepping Away from the Screen
For Rosie Woods, the decision to abandon digital tools wasn’t about rejecting them entirely. It was more about recognising that she needed a reset. One where working in a constantly digital world was beginning to take it’s toll.
“There’s been something unsettling about it,” she explains. “Particularly with AI coming in… it’s exhausting trying to keep up.”
Her previous practice was rooted firmly in the digital realm. Working in 3D environments, she would build, light and texture compositions before translating them into paintings.
Instead, she set herself a challenge of creating a show entirely without technology. No screens. No software. Just the physical world. The result is what she describes as a kind of “digital detox”. A conscious return to making work from what is directly around her.
Nature as Material
At the centre of the exhibition are a series of gold-leaf works. Each one rooted in the everyday environment of the artist herself. House plants, neighbour’s greenery, vines grown on her balcony. These become the raw material.
The process is hands-on. Leaves are selected, painted gold, photographed and then translated into paintings. It’s a method that feels almost sculptural in its nature, drawing attention to forms that might otherwise go unnoticed.
“I was looking for shapes and objects that I live with,” she says. “Things you walk past and take for granted.”
There seems to be a quiet meditative quality in this approach. A sense of slowing down and really observing the world.
Two Practices, One Artist
Alongside the gold works sit a second body of paintings. Looser, more expressive and entirely abstract. Works that emerged almost by accident.
After completing a series of more technical mural projects, Rosie says that she found herself mentally drained. Returning to the studio, she began painting in a completely different way. No planning. No structure. Just instinct.
“It was like art therapy,” she says. “Putting on music and just going wild.”
What started as a private exercise gradually evolved into something more. Visitors to her studio responded strongly to the work, prompting her to reconsider its place within her wider practice.
The result is a collection of paintings that feel raw and immediate, driven by mood, memory and emotion rather than process.
Memory, Landscape and Feeling
Despite their differences, both strands of work are connected by a common thread. This is a desire to reconnect with the physical world.
The abstract paintings in particular draw heavily on Rosie’s experiences in nature. Now based in Australia, she speaks of hiking, camping and learning to surf. Experiences that have filtered into her work in subtle ways.
“It’s like osmosis,” she explains. “Memories of being in these spaces of natural beauty just coming through.”
This influence is also visible in her evolving colour palette. Once dominated by bold, spray-painted tones, her work now leans towards softer, more natural hues. All now reflecting the environments she now inhabits.
Between London and Australia
That shift in environment is significant. Growing up in London and working within the city’s street art scene, Rosie describes her identity as rooted in an urban experience.
Yet life in Australia has introduced something new, space, light and proximity to nature.
“It’s wildly different,” she says. “But I’ve learned to marry the two.”
Returning to London for exhibitions like this one provides a different kind of energy. The density, the culture, the familiarity. Together, these dual influences are helping to shape a practice that continues to evolve.
Process and Precision
Even within this more analogue approach, there’s still a strong sense of technique at play.
One particularly striking element of the gold works is the delicate shadowing. Achieved using transparent spray paint and carefully cut masking, the process requires precision and patience.
Sheets of translucent plastic are applied over the painted surface, cut meticulously around the leaf forms. Then sprayed to create shadow. Once dry, the material is peeled away, revealing crisp, controlled tonal contrasts.
“It’s really satisfying,” she admits.
That balance, between control and spontaneity runs throughout the exhibition.
A Moment to Pause
Ultimately, the show feels less like a statement and more like an invitation.
In a world increasingly dominated by screens, algorithms and constant connectivity, Rosie’s work offers something quieter. A chance to slow down. To notice. To reconnect.
“I just hope it gives people a bit of a break,” she says. “Even if it’s just for five minutes.”
It’s a sentiment that resonates beyond the walls of the gallery.
Because sometimes, stepping away, whether from technology, routine or expectation, is exactly what’s needed to see things clearly again.
For more Inspiring City articles you will like, take a look at…
- Rosie Woods: Digital Innovation and Golden Street Art
- Hyper Gold by Rosie Woods at BSMT Space
- Collagism the Multi-Media Collage Artist of the East End
- Born in Pink – An Interview with Vane MG
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