Artist: Barbara Long

Ruup & Form presents Stairway to Heaven, the first solo exhibition in the UK by artist Barbara Long. This exhibition brings together an immersive installation of the same name, alongside Kitchen Sink Drama, One Darned Thing..., and a collection of sculptural vessels that expand on Long’s ongoing exploration of memory, domesticity, and the passage of time.

At the heart of the exhibition is Stairway to Heaven, a striking sculptural installation that serves as a deeply personal meditation on transformation, resilience, and the cyclical nature of life. Originally conceived as a staircase constructed from repurposed t-shirts and wool, the work has since evolved into a vibrant red structure, symbolising endurance, and continuity.

The installation comprises of 64 meticulously upholstered steps, with the hope and potential to grow to 100, forming a physical timeline of significant moments in the artist’s life. The fabrics used in its construction have been carefully selected and dyed red, encapsulating personal histories through materials such as childhood muslins, wedding textiles, and salvaged cleaning cloths from her mother’s home. The final, unfinished steps remain open-ended, representing the unknown future and the ever- evolving nature of Long’s artistic practice. Inspired by climbing plants observed in northern Spain, Stairway to Heaven invites interaction, encouraging visitors to reflect on their own life journeys. A soundscape titled In My Beginning Is My End, In My End Is My Beginning accompanies the piece, interweaving studio sounds, birdsong, and the hum of domestic life, reinforcing the continuous cycle of existence.

“Through Stairway to Heaven, I offer a meditation on impermanence, resilience, and memory, inviting viewers to step into the past, embrace the present, and imagine the future”, says Barbara Long

On 5 March, Long will extend the installation during a live performance, adding The 65th Step to mark her 65th year. As with each preceding step, this new addition will be upholstered in fabric imbued with memories from the past year. Visitors are warmly invited to witness this informal yet significant act of commemoration and to join Barbara in celebrating another year of life.

Beyond the central installation, the exhibition includes works from Long’s Kitchen Sink Drama series, an evocative collection of darned, stitched, and embroidered domestic textiles. This series emerged during the process of clearing her mother’s home, an experience that revealed a poignant contrast between delicate 18th-century embroidered samplers—once painstakingly stitched by young girls for their trousseaus—and stacks of worn dishcloths and dusters, discarded yet carrying the weight of years of use.

Transplanted to her studio in Madrid, these materials became the foundation for Kitchen Sink Drama, a project that explores the tension between preservation and disposability, sentimentality, and necessity. The artist’s hand-stitched repairs reflect on the ways in which we store, suppress, or reshape our memories. Phrases such as No Place Like Home and Kitchen Sink Dramas are embroidered into the fabric, referencing both domestic life and the gritty realism of mid-20th-century British theatre and film, which often centred on struggles within the home.

As the exhibition draws to a close, visitors will have the opportunity to engage in an interactive workshop led by the artist and art therapist Barbara Long. The Cloths That Bind, taking place on 29 March from 4-6 pm, invites participants to explore their personal connections to domestic textiles. Through experimental processes, the workshop will examine how fabric functions as both a physical and emotional thread linking us to family, history, and the concept of home. All materials will be provided, but attendees are encouraged to bring an old piece of domestic cloth of their own to incorporate into the session.

About Barbara Long
Barbara Long is a multidisciplinary artist, art therapist, and educator based in Madrid, Spain. Originally from the UK, she previously worked in environmental and cultural NGOs in Manchester, leading community art and environmental projects. She holds a degree in History of Art from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and a Master’s in Art Psychotherapy, alongside a diploma in group psychology from the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona.

Barbara has extensive experience as a creative facilitator, running workshops and providing art therapy to vulnerable groups, including at-risk children, adolescents, asylum-seeking families, and women referred by social services. Her artistic practice spans immersive installations, performances, sculptural objects, and ephemeral land art. Through mending, stitching, and repurposing, she creates transient works that reflect the flux of life.