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Melanie Stidolph

Exhibition: Anchorhold, ALMA artspace

2026

Anchorhold was a two person show with Rachael Coward at ALMA artspace in Newquay – run by Lucy Ward and Ingrid Pop. The exhibition brought together existing works and new pieces in conversation.

Coward’s fragile works reference the practical hardware of the shoreline, shifting between utilitarian and symbolic offerings. These delicate ceramic pieces sit alongside the slippery draping of Stidolph’s printed fabrics, depicting characters in communion with the rocky edges of Cornwall’s coast.

Together they created an installation for ALMA artspace that embodied the sanctity of the studio, aligning it with the religious space of the Anchorhold. These spaces of voluntary enclosure sat adjunct to places of worship, inhabited by an Anchorite or Anchoress with limited sightlines to the outside world.

Anchorhold at ALMA artspace, photo: Melanie Stidolph

Image caption: Anchorhold at ALMA artspace, photo: Melanie Stidolph

Anchorhold installation, photo: Ingrid Pop

Image caption: Anchorhold installation, photo: Ingrid Pop

Anchorhold, installation, detail: Untitled from work in progress Turning to Stone, Melanie Stidolph with ceramic works, Rachael Coward, photo: Erika Cann

Image caption: Anchorhold, installation, detail: Untitled from work in progress Turning to Stone, Melanie Stidolph with ceramic works, Rachael Coward, photo: Erika Cann

Anchorhold installation, photo: Ingrid Pop

Image caption: Anchorhold installation, photo: Ingrid Pop

Anchorhold installation, Buryana’s Net, Rachael Coward, photo: Ingrid Pop

Image caption: Anchorhold installation, Buryana’s Net, Rachael Coward, photo: Ingrid Pop

Anchorhold, installation, Accidental Anchoress, Melanie Stidolph & Buryana’s Knot, Rachael Coward, photo: Melanie Stidolph

Image caption: Anchorhold, installation, Accidental Anchoress, Melanie Stidolph & Buryana’s Knot, Rachael Coward, photo: Melanie Stidolph

Anchorhold, installation, detail, Buryana’s Knot, Rachael Coward, photo: Melanie Stidolph

Image caption: Anchorhold, installation, detail, Buryana’s Knot, Rachael Coward, photo: Melanie Stidolph

Anchorhold installation, photo: Ingrid Pop

Image caption: Anchorhold installation, photo: Ingrid Pop

Anchorhold installation, detail, Barely There, Rachael Coward, photo: Ingrid Pop

Image caption: Anchorhold installation, detail, Barely There, Rachael Coward, photo: Ingrid Pop

Anchorhold, installation, photo: Melanie Stidolph

Image caption: Anchorhold, installation, photo: Melanie Stidolph

Anchorhold, ALMA artspace, opening night, photo: Melanie Stidolph

Image caption: Anchorhold, ALMA artspace, opening night, photo: Melanie Stidolph

Left to right: Melanie Stidolph, Rachael Coward, Ingrid Pop, Lucy Ward outside ALMA artspace, photo: Alice Mahoney

Image caption: Left to right: Melanie Stidolph, Rachael Coward, Ingrid Pop, Lucy Ward outside ALMA artspace, photo: Alice Mahoney

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