A NEW exhibition blurring the boundaries between art and science has opened at The Pound in Corsham.

Cooking Without Gas is the first solo show by Dallas Collins. It opened on Saturday (October 13) and runs until Saturday, November 10.

His intriguing sculptures continuously oscillate between science fiction and fact in their endeavour to explore the idea of a post-apocalyptic space.A unique visual language is born from a fusion of curious objects and an exploration of fluidity.

The resulting work is experimental, surreal and otherworldly, and this unique aesthetic has attracted increasing attention over the years.

Mr Collins, who lives in Bristol, was elected as an Academician at the Royal West of England Academy earlier this year.

Significant exhibitions have also raised his profile, including Otherworldly at the Burghley Sculpture Garden, the VVM7 Exchange at Tate, Liverpool, and 1SSUE 16 at the West Wharf Gallery in Cardiff.

Rounding off a busy and exciting year, Cooking Without Gas brings together an eclectic selection of sculptures and 2D works from Collins’ output over the past 18 years.

Katie Ackrill, Visual Arts Co-ordinator at Pound Arts, said: “We are thrilled to be able to include Dallas Collins in this season’s exhibition programme; particularly at this exciting moment in his career.

“Our audiences will love his work because it is infused with a curiosity for unexplored territory, and filled with a sense of wonderment and intrigue.”

The earliest piece on show is his 2001 bronze Free Spinning. An assemblage of familiar aircraft features transformed into a surreal futuristic object, this piece creates a space in which the contrast between strength and fluidity is disrupted.The most recent work on show, Behold’ 2018, explores the way we see the world in relation to the notion of time. Using an image from NASA’s Ultra Deep Field project and 576 oak and vinyl squares, Collins attempts to visualise a moment in time which does not exist anymore.Together, the works selected for Cooking Without Gas celebrate Mr Collins’ significant output. They feature a diverse display of sculptures created in bronze, wood and steel, as well as exciting 2D works including woodblock prints and large scale pastels.

Mr Collins trained at the Norwich School of Art and Design from 1996-1999, following a career in aircraft engineering.

In 2001 he graduated from the Royal College of Art, London, with a MA in Sculpture and Foundry Art.

Now living and working in Bristol, Collins runs dedicated foundry research projects and sculpture summer schools for professionals.

Cooking Without Gas is open from Monday to Friday from 10am-6pm, and on Saturday from 10am-4pm. Admission is free.