AN EXHIBITION inspired by a book is running in Beaminster until Christmas Eve.

Three Policemen by Philomena Harmsworth is at Le Vieux Four, 2 North Street, Beaminster.

Her work is inspired by the book The Third Policeman, by Flann O’Brien.

Philomena said: “I wrote the book at the same time Picasso and the Cubists were painting three dimensions onto a flat page in a semi-abstract way.

“The book is written in a very visual way.

“When reading it, image after image floods my mind.

“The book is unusual and contains an all-revealing twist at the end. The middle part features an otherworldly pair of policemen, who have the theory that a bicycle, a rider and the road will become each other, in different percentages, according to how often the bicycle is ridden.

“I find the idea of the bicycles interchanging personality with their rider and the road, a wonderful one.

“Anyone who has done an activity to any great extent will understand this idea, how realities meld into one another and make way for strange imaginings.

“The idea that a road has seen many generations of travellers and therefore has many secrets is also a theme in the paintings.”

Philomena said that in the book one of the policeman has fathomed a way of carving immaculate miniatures of ornate boxes.

The miniatures go down in size and fit inside each other like Russian Dolls.

She added: “You don’t have to read the book to enjoy this exhibition.

“There are the usual explanations alongside the paintings to read should you wish.

“Not all the paintings are directly related to the book, some are offshoots.

“There will be a sketchbook to peruse; not just sketches from life, but to see how my paintings evolve.”

n See philomenaharmsworth art.co.uk for more information.