The Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard is celebrating its 20th anniversary with an interesting show primarily themed on the Dockyard itself. The eye is instantly caught by a quilt by Lyn Morrell on the far wall with a dramatic rendition of two characteristic dockyard windows. One looks into the first one and through a dark interior to the second one silhouetted against a bright summer sky. My first thought was "What's that window doing there? There never used to be one." It successfully draws one right into the midst of the show.

Next to it is an acrylic by Sue Grass that I have seen before. A second viewing doesn't reduce its impact. It is a scene of shocking Dockyard decay starkly emphasised by a foreground of orange plastic fencing, itself collapsed. The painting symbolises the disgraceful failure of maintenance that is steadily overwhelming the historic Dockyard at the indifferent hands of the Quango that runs it. It should hang in the offices of Wedco as a stark reminder of their large stock of uninhabitable housing.

There is an interesting similarity of style and colour scheme in the works of Chris Marson and the smaller works of Sheilagh Head and Jonah Jones. One almost gets the sense that they were painting in a group together and having fun at it by sharing one palette. Chris Marson's group of four oils, missing from the big show at the Society of Arts, confirm my enthusiasm. They are not yet as spare and purely suggestive as his watercolours and he may not be trying for a similar effect in his oils, but they are tantalisingly interesting. I was particularly struck by his view from the North Camber of (I think) D Battery at Commissioners Point. His rendition of the tug 'Powerful', Sheilagh Head's 'Archangel' and 'Dockyard Boats' and Jonah Jones' 'Boats at Dockyard' could almost be hung as a set, so similar are they in treatment.

Mrs. Head's larger works are, of course, distinctly her own, though 'Dockyard Glitter' maintains a similar colour scheme. Her best recent style of work bursts forth in 'Rocks and Sea', an almost violently dramatic near abstraction, full of life and movement and fury.

A still wet new work from the energetic studio of Jonah Jones is 'Cable Ship at Dockyard' where he has used the complex communications equipment on the ship as a basis for his cloud formations. In so doing he has arrived at a fascinating exercise in composition.

Giles Campbell's watercolours, while not in the same league as Chris Marson's, are nevertheless well executed and thoughtfully coloured in schemes that avoid the sense of tourist trap. I particularly liked 'Out to Pasture', a sombre rendition of the old tug 'Forceful' tied up against a rusting barge for its evocative sense of nostalgia tinged with gloom.

In a more decorative vein was a pair of vertical pen and watercolour renditions of 'Snorkel Bay Wall' in warmer tones than most of the rest of the show.

Not staying in the Dockyard theme at all were four gouache whimsies by Helen Daniels of dogs at play. The play is more human than canine and the series is meticulously executed in an almost cartoon style. They are definitely good for a chuckle.Also out of the show's theme is Judith Davidson's heavy impasto oil 'Before the Storm', interesting for its unusual colour scheme. It could have been muddy, but wasn't.This is a show not of stellar quality, but of considerable thematic interest and with some curious insights into the way in which groups of local artists sometimes work.

If you're at the Dockyard, it's well worth a visit.

ANDREW TRIMINGHAM