We’re pleased to be included alongside 30 artists in the exhibition ’Self Portraits Make Me Smile’ instigated and curated by Peter Swidrak, in celebration of 40 years of THE HEART of ART.
Peter is probably the UK’s best known artist currently working with schools. He has worked with and shared his love of art with more than 90,000 children and teachers in schools throughout the UK and in Europe on over 2,500 individual art projects during the last 20 years. Peter was an originator of the “art treasure hunt” concept and is also an inventor and designer of many creativity expanding activities – including, Uncentiles©, MyEva Tiles, Chalkbooks (special edition for Primary Schools), In The Beginning – Treasure Hunt, Square Magic and “Imagination Shapes” which The Times called “a lovely idea”.
Our contribution, TWO HEADS [SELVES] is a photomontage created by a series of overlaid photographs featuring battered and paint spattered old showroom mannequin heads, a collage of our features and a sample of ‘textures’, deliberately constructed to evoke an old Dutch master painting. This is an image we have reproduced over the years to advertise exhibitions, as publicity for our long-standing collaboration and has also been auctioned in support of charity. The image speaks of love, of the knocks and scrapes we all come up against in life, a bit boshed-about but moving onward and forward, unthwarted and undaunted. All in all, very positive inspite of and despite adversity. We may physically be many years older now but the image, the heart, still rings true.
As Peter says, ‘ It has been a privilege for us that so many artists shared their thought provoking and diverse images, showing how we as artists see ourselves as a snapshot in a moment in time. Sometimes amusing, sometimes sad, sometimes confused and sometimes at the top of our game.’
THE HEART of ART Gallery
Shipley Underground Market (SUM)
West Yorkshire
BD18 3QU
From 28 April to 1 June 2023
Monday to Saturday 10am to 4pm
Closed Wednesday afternoons
