A DAZZLING display of colour, shape, form - and chickens - is taking over the walls of the newly restored Five Arrows Gallery at Exbury Gardens.

The exhibition comprises work by three artists with very different styles - Caroline de Rothschild, wife of Exbury owner Nicholas de Rothschild, her brother Francis Darvall, and Pauline Filose.

Caroline and Pauline work together in Caroline's studio at her old farmhouse in Exbury.

Francis, an environmentalist, lives and paints on a mountain in the Drakensburgs, South Africa.

Centrepiece of the exhibition is Francis's epic work, Under Orders, which depicts Exbury during its wartime occupation as the 'stone frigate', HMS Mastodon.

The picture, which was on display at the Arromanches ceremony at Exbury last Saturday, is a montage of significant events in the HMS Mastodon story.

It will eventually feature prominently at a new local history museum at Exbury which will be opened in time for the 60th anniversary of D-Day in June.

Chickens have captured the imagination of Caroline de Rothschild, and most of her work at this exhibition is devoted to her feathered friends.

In a variety of media, she has painted and sculpted numerous chickens with attitude.

Her inspiration has come from the flock of chickens which inhabit the grounds around her farmhouse.

They are depicted with great humour and much personality in a variety of media including monoprints, oils and ceramics, notably a group of dancing hens and cockerels, and the head of the Green Man which is half chicken!

Caroline has also had time to produce some flower paintings and landscapes.

Francis' work also shows versatility. Most impressive are landscapes painted around his African home, and African wildlife including zebras and springboks.

Pauline's main exhibit is a huge bronze head entitled Mede.

This was cast from a base of wax and straw, and is a unique one-off.

Pauline's other works range from the very colourful abstracts of the local landscape and the Isle of Wight, for which she has a passion, to some delightful bronzes of meerkats.

The exhibition adds an extra dimension to a visit to Exbury, and most of the exhibits are for sale.

The exhibition opens tomorrow and continues until Sunday, May 18.