Rachael Johnson, an artist from Fermanagh, opens her exhibition Pareidolia at Strule Arts Centre on May 1. The show runs until May 30 with free admission.

The exhibition displays new works alongside pieces Johnson completed over the past 20 years. Johnson grew up in Enniskillen, educated there in a household where her father Gordon Johnson taught art at the former Collegiate Grammar School.

Johnson described the collection as a retrospective spanning recent paintings to older ones. She noted that assembling the works revealed recurring themes and connections across her career.

The title Pareidolia refers to seeing familiar forms in abstract images. Johnson likened it to finding shapes in clouds, an activity her father encouraged. She begins paintings without a preconceived idea, rotating them until forms emerge, then develops landscapes, figures or other subjects.

Johnson avoids specific titles to allow viewers their own interpretations. Travel through remote mountains and deserts informs her sensory memories in the paintings. She uses mixed media including paint, charcoal, glass, wood and found objects, influenced by her father's workshop materials.

Johnson works as an art psychotherapist. She connects her art practice to providing control and clarity through creative expression. The exhibition opens at 7pm on May 1.