Jungle Harpies & African Vistas
This October, The Regency Town House becomes the beating heart of Brighton’s creative spirit as husband-and-wife duo Inma Vila Solfire and Seth SolFire unveil Jungle Harpies & African Vistas, a multi-disciplinary exhibition bringing together painting, storytelling, live tattooing and fifty years of shared artistic experience.
Running from 14–18 Oct, it is one of the standout cultural events of this year’s October Unpacked initiative, with ambitions to become a returning highlight of the city’s autumn festival.
The show is bold, intimate, mythical and rooted in Brighton’s love of craft and character. It is a personal exploration of origins, ritual and transformation, shaped by the couple’s family life and the tattooing industry that first brought them together.
Inma’s Jungle Harpies celebrates female strength and the quiet ferocity of motherhood, drawing on classical folklore to reimagine harpies as guardians rather than monsters. Her work is tender and powerful, filled with delicate bird imagery.
Seth’s African Vistas offers a striking counterpoint – geometric, rhythmic and influenced by the movement and memory of his South African upbringing. Together, the works create a conversation between myth and landscape, softness and structure, past and present.
At the centre of the exhibition is the idea of the ‘mark’ – how humans use patterns and symbols to express identity. Throughout the week, the gallery becomes a living ritual space through live tattooing sessions, turning the act of marking the body into a communal performance. Each tattoo will be created specifically for the project and will never be repeated, making the process as unique as the artwork surrounding it.
“We are excited to be bringing the ritual of tattooing, one that is close to both our hearts, into the art gallery. We will be working with the concepts from the paintings, with each tattoo being created specifically for this project and never repeated after the exhibition,” explains Inma.
The exhibition opens with a relaxed welcome evening on Wed 14 Oct and closes on Sun 18 Oct with cake and a final chance to experience the work before it disappears – a fitting addition to October Unpacked’s celebration of Brighton’s creative energy as autumn takes hold.
Jungle Harpies & African Vistas | The Regency Town House Wed 14 Oct 18:00 | Tickets
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