A PLASTIC tour de force provides a refreshing and revealing interpretation of two literary classics in a powerful exhibition of sculpture at Duckett and Jeffreys Gallery, in Malton.

Jilted, an intriguing exhibition by Yorkshire-based artist Anne Thalheim, takes its inspiration from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy and runs from today until May 5.

Using a grant awarded by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, Anne has been able to produce new larger works.

“I found the title for my cage and it suddenly all gelled – Mr Boldwood’s Cache,” said Anna, after reading Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd.

“He was obsessed with Bathsheba and kept pressing her for a promise to marry him. After he murdered Troy, they found in his house all manner of gifts for her – dresses, rings, lockets, furs...”

Using industrial or domestic plastic items bought at DIY shops and assembling them with techniques borrowed from basketry and needlework, Anne has creates a sculpted centrepiece, a cache of pieces that she says, “...is as if the captive died long ago and left behind the lures she used to attract the male and over time these objects have become organic forms.”

Brought up in Canada, the child of a German father and French Canadian mother, Anne has exhibited at the Gallery at Ryedale Folk Museum and Crescent Artspace at Woodend in Scarborough. She will be exhibiting at the Mercer Gallery, Harrogate, in 2013.

“The reference to the Dickens character Miss Haversham is presented as what on first appearance is a collection of objects, props that aid the narrative,” said gallery co-owner, Stef Mitchell.

“However, as with much of Anne’s work, on closer inspection, dualities and tensions are revealed that lead the viewer to question the connections between form, object, material and subject.”

Duckett and Jeffreys has produced a publication with an essay by Jane Sellars, curator at the Mercer Art Gallery, celebrating and visually documenting Anne’s recent work, available at the gallery.

Running alongside Jilted in DJ Selections is an exhibition of drawings and prints by national, international and regional artists, including recently-acquired prints by Barcelona-based artist, Danielle Creenaune.

Jilted opens today with a launch party, 7pm-9pm, when Anne will be in the gallery to chat about her work. The gallery is open from Wednesday to Saturday, 11am-4pm, and all other times by appointment.