Safe as Milk

Safe as Milk

Susan Adams / Zena Blackwell / Charlotte Brisland

Opening Friday 7 August 7pm

Elysium Gallery, 12-24 Belle Vue Way, Swansea, SA1 5BY

Exhibition runs 07/08/2026 – 19/09/2026


When Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band used the adage “Safe as Milk” for their debut album, the concept was heavily laced with irony: milk is pure, it comes from the breast... but maybe not with all the chemicals Mother is imbibing? Artists Susan Adams, Zena Blackwell and Charlotte Brisland are asking questions too, is the home always a protected haven which shuts out the monsters, or are its very walls permeated with the uncanny which have created the alien within?

Safe as milk represents the work of Susan Adams, Zena Blackwell and Charlotte Brisland who explore the domestic sphere from three distinct angles. A familiar space which is often built around an interior location within which the drama of life unfolds in a kaleidoscope of the human condition. The paintings and sculptures in the exhibition explore and inhabit the shadows, crawl beneath the kitchen table, picture the inhabitants or hover at a distance. These views, transcribed from the female gaze and very much integrated within the female condition veer between the uncomfortable and the contemplative.

Susan Adams, Zena Blackwell and Charlotte Brisland were the main award winners from the Elysium gallery led Beep Painting Biennial 2024.