MERCY IN ACTION
Mercy in Action is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 1995. Working amidst some of the poorest communities in the Philippines, we are committed to rescuing vulnerable children from the dangers of the streets by offering them food, nurture and an education. Over time, our work has grown to encompass projects which are vital for the whole community, such as housebuilding, small business enterprises, and schooling and feeding programmes. However, the heart of what we are trying to achieve has and always will be best expressed through our work with street children; the most vulnerable in that society. We value the unique importance of every child, regardless of their background, faith, social or ethnic origin. Our work centres around helping children to regain lost years, providing professional intervention focussing on education, play and health care. We aim to help each child in our care to achieve their full potential and to give them the opportunity to live the rest of their lives free from the involuntary poverty into which they were born. www.mercyinaction.org.uk
INTRODUCTION Hope and Poverty
Ben Hughes. Bangkok highway. Oll on board. 64 x 39 cm.
Hope and Poverty is an art exhibition with a difference. A wide range of work based on the theme of Hope and Poverty has been submitted by over 60 artists, including aspiring undiscovered artists who are still studying; international artists from countries such as Greece, Hungary, Germany, Canada, Mexico and America; well-loved local artists and well-known artists such as Carol Peace and Chinwe Roy (whose portrait of the Queen brought her wide acclaim in 2002) amongst others. This extraordinary mix of style, medium and content culminates in a thought provoking, inspirational collection for viewers to enjoy with, and with prices ranging from £35 to £4,500 there’s something to suit every visitor’s taste and pocket. The exhibition embodies its own theme as profits arising from the event will be donated to the Bath-based charity Mercy in Action (www.mercyinaction.org.uk) whose work with street children and families living in extreme poverty in the Philippines has brought hope and freedom from poverty to many lives. In particular the proceeds from this event will be going towards our work with street children in Cebu, The Philippines.
ARTISTS Paulo Baigent Paulo Baigent has worked as a designer, illustrator, painter and teacher for the last twentysix years. He works in ink, watercolour and acrylics. His subject matter is varied but the natural world and, in particular, trees are a common theme.
Paulo Baigent. Hope Grows. Watercolour. 26 x 26 cm
Garth Bayley Garth works loosely with bold colours showing form and movement. His subjects are diverse ranging from sport and dance to abstract landscape. Garth draws on old masters for inspiration reinterpreting ideas in a contemporary way. He uses personal experiences to create beautifully expressive canvases evoking both emotional and physical sensuality. Garth exhibits in a number of venues and has work in collections in the UK, South Africa, U.S.A, Namibia and the Netherlands. www.garthbayley.co.uk Garth Bayley. The humanity of war. Oil on canvas. 60 x 42 cm
ARTISTS Jeremy Bear Jeremy studied Graphic Design at Brighton College of Art and went on to work as a Production Designer for BBC Television in London and then Head of Design at Yorkshire Television. In 2000, to expand his use and understanding of new media in film, he did an MA in Digital Imaging at London Metropolitan University. Through all these activities he has continued to draw and paint and has paintings, drawings and prints in private collections in the UK, France, Spain, Greece, Canada, Australia and India. The vibrant and exuberant life experienced on the streets of Kolkata, India is at the heart of the series of paintings that Jeremy Bear has been working on for the last year. He is calling this series 'My India is Great' to celebrate the passion and drama which he has seen demonstrated by people as they go around their daily lives. He came across that phrase inscribed alongside the equally powerfully expressed warning of 'DANGER' on the rear of a city bus and this features in the title work of the series. For this exhibition, on the theme of Hope and Poverty, he has included that painting along with two others, 'The Trumpet Seller' and 'Kalia Chat', which demonstrate in visual terms the well justified pride that street sellers take in what they make and sell.
Jeremy Bear. My India is great. Acrylic on canvas. 40 x 40 cm.
Sheona Beaumont Sheona Beaumont is a visual artist and writer based in the South West of the UK. Her works look at the ways photographs can communicate more than just a snapshot, often incorporating questions about faith and perception. Since graduating from the University for the Creative Arts in 2001, she has exhibited widely and regularly, engaging with subjects such as the heritage of monastic faith on Dartmoor (2004), stations of the cross (2006), the abolition of the slave trade (2007), and the spiritual nature of hope (2008). Alongside her practice, she is currently completing her doctorate on biblical themes in contemporary art at the University of Gloucestershire. She was born in Bristol, and has lived in various parts of the city for over 15 years. www.shospace.co.uk
Sheona Beaumont. Endurance. Digital print on paper. 90 x 115 cm.
ARTISTS Colin Bell After a career in education Colin still works in schools as a visual artist. He describes his work as a long search for images and artefacts that reveal the unexpected and previously unseen. “ After spending many years working on abstract paintings which provided a context for my love of colour, paint and space, I am currently engaged in the construction of ceramic sculptures which take the form of portable shrines. Digital montages of altarpieces built with fragments of photos from a wide range of sources help to develop the same theme. Though not adopting any particular faith, the forms that are invented to embody abstract spiritual concepts fascinate me.� Colin Belll.
Colin Bell. Requiem for a Hopeless Innocence No.1 Digital Print. 52 x 52 cm.
Eleanor Leonne Bennett Eleanor Leonne Bennett is a 15 year old photographer and artist who has won contests with National Geographic,The Woodland Trust, The World Photography Organisation, Winstons Wish, Papworth Trust, Mencap, Big Issue, Wrexham science, Fennel and Fern and Nature's Best Photography. She has had her photographs published in exhibitions and magazines across the world including the Guardian, RSPB Birds, RSPB Bird Life, Dot Dot Dash, Alabama Coast, Alabama Seaport and NG Kids Magazine (the most popular kids magazine in the world). She was also the only person from the UK to have her work displayed in the National Geographic and Airbus run See The Bigger Picture global exhibition tour with the United Nations International Year Of Biodiversity 2010 and is the only visual artist published in the Taj Mahal Review June 2011. Eleanor is the youngest artist to be displayed in Charnwood Art's Vision 09 Exhibition and New Mill's Artlounge Dark Colours Exhibition. www.eleanorleonnebennett.zenfolio.com
Eleanor Leonne Bennett. Sleep anywhere. Photograph. 35 x 28 cm.
ARTISTS Ilene Berman Ilene has recently re-located to Bristol from St. Louis, Missouri where she was awarded numerous community-based public art commissions. Trained as a sculptor, she uses the sculptor’s emphasis on material to create her work. Her understanding of “material” has evolved to include whatever process or media is necessary to express the idea. In recent works, this expression has taken the form of textile, concrete, poetry and negotiation. Ilene’s studio practice is based on the belief that art can (and should) change the world. No matter the form, each site specific work is the result of respectfully formed relationships and is designed through the careful listening to people speak about and the patient watching of people move through a specific place. Each engagement is different as she works to develop an understanding of that place and an insight into what is to be challenged or celebrated within it. These challenges or celebrations may take the form of an object, an experience or a series of events. This Type of practice is referred to as relational, situational or durational. All three fit.
Ilene Berman. NODhouse Manifesto Pledge. Gold floss, linen. 61 x 61cm.
www.nodhouse.com
Lauren Bird I am an artist based in Bristol (UK). My art has been a means of release and escape for many years. I have never lost my childhood love of creating patterns. It has evolved in to a kind of meditative act and a game. Each line suggests the next. I have started working in a more structured way recently as there are limitations in just drawing in a free form way. I am interested in visual language throughout human history as well as natural forms. I am particularly interested in the visual language of the futuristic and the modern. The forms, shapes and patterns that we see when we imagine what the future will be. I like to explore the corruption of form by taking these visual languages and pushing them. Through distortion and juxtaposing these cultural languages I seek to understand them as well express my mixed emotions towards them. www.laurenbird.co.uk
Lauren Bird. New machine hope. Pencil on paper. 59.5 x 84 cm.
ARTISTS Julie-Ann Blackmore Julie-Ann Blackmore is a self-taught artist based in Bath. She uses her art as a visual healing medium to express higher emotions and mental thought patterns. Her work stems from many years of personal and professional development, research and experience to find out how to create and maintain excellent health, physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually and financially. Her piece of work entitled ‘Abundance’ offers the viewer hope and the insight of how when the mind is feeling abundant poverty can no longer exist. This takes them into a deeper level of trust that the universe will provide them with all they need, whenever they need it. Without hope there is despair, with despair there is a feeling of lack. Abundance puts the sparkle back. Julie-Ann loves to paint and is constantly amazed of the quality of her own work as it is all created without conscious thought. She literally gets the raw materials and paints. The title always comes after the art has been finished and is always in relation to her dream of guiding others to alleviate their suffering. www.howtobeyou.wordpress.com
David Blatch Born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa, David Blatch is a 26 year old graphic artist currently living and working in Bath. With a background in animation and a self taught illustration style, his work has been used in a number projects from television adverts and editorial illustrations to large scale- pub murals and canvass pieces. A Pop- Surrealistic style serves as a base for his personal projects, where exaggerated cartoon figures are paraded around and made to express the joys of actual adventure and maybe suggest the concept exploration beyond ones personal comforts. Aside from commissioned work, he is currently completing a series of paintings that explore the theme of staying mentally awake by noticing and experiencing all beauty that the world has to offer.
Julie-Ann Blackmore. Abundance. Acrylic on canvas. 83 x 60 cm.
ARTISTS Karen Burnett Karen Burnett has developed a spontaneous, fluid, raw and textured way of working. She has a passion to create abstract artwork involving natural movement and fusion of paint and mixed media. She works with vigour and energy using a mixture of mediums including acrylics, oil and water based paints onto canvas. Karen is now resident in Bath, UK. She previously worked as a graphic designer. It was only during an extended stay in New Zealand she began her fine art explorations. She has recently finished a visual arts course in Bath with successful exhibitions to follow. Karen continues to experiment with new art techniques, as well as running art workshops here and abroad.
Karen Burnett. He’s not cross. Mixed media. 80 x 60 cm.
The BBC "Show Me the Monet" recently filmed Karen for their new 10 part series shown May 2011. She was interviewed by Charlotte Mullins, David Lee, Roy Bolton and Chris Hollins. www.karenrburnett.co.uk
Vicky Card I am Vicky Card and I have been making artwork for over 8 years. I studied Art and Textiles at Bath Spa University and specialised in embroidery. All of my work is hand-made and designed by myself. I start with a pencil drawing and this is translated into stitch, which I do free hand on a sewing machine. I feel this process gives my work a more illustrative aspect than craft, as I am drawing with stitch. www.meiowmeiow.com
Vicky Card. Love is like a flower, you’ve got to let it grow. Embroidery. 30.5 x 41 cm.
ARTISTS Pilar Cortés Pilar Cortés was born 1982 in Mexico City. She graduated from Visual Arts at the National School of Arts, part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Her work has been exhibited widely throughout Mexico, Colombia, Spain and the UK. Since graduating in 2007, Pilar has participated in two solo exhibitions in Mexico and in 2011-2012, Pilar had a solo exhibition, “Postcards from nowhere” at The Crypt Gallery at St George’s Bristol. “For me, to observe a painting is to observe it through the construction of our consciousness. Through our memories and imaginations, we enter inside of it, alter it and become part of what is represented".
Pilar Cortes. A postcard from nowhere VIII. Oil on board. 35 x 40 cm.
Since 2008, Pilar lives and works in Bristol, UK and is currently working along the artist Helena Hernandez (also feautured in this exhibition) in a touring project “Limitrofe. Crossing Borders”. The project focuses on the conditions of migration, movement and travel, where either for reasons of survival or recreation, one must constantly reaffirm and restate one's own identity, actions, nationality, language and boundaries. In September 2011, she was also invited to participate in the Performance “From Morning till night” by Katerina Seda at the Tate Modern. www.pilarcortes.co.uk www.contemporaryartcommissions.co.uk
Iain Cotton Iain Cotton studied sculpture at Bath Academy of Art, graduating in 1987. He learned masonry, stone carving and stone conservation skills whilst working with Nimbus Conservation. Although largely self-taught, he started his letter carving education with an evening course at Bath College of Further Education. Iain has worked on many lettering and memorial commissions including work for Memorials by Artists. He has work in the National Collection of Lettering and Memorial Art Work. Since graduating he has continued to make sculpture and has exhibited widely. He lives with his wife and family in a small village south of Bath, and his workshop is in an old barn at nearby Radford Mill. www.iaincotton.co.uk
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Iain Cotton Hope cube. 11cm cubed.
ARTISTS
Fabian Coutiño Cortés In my search for a different image, I found a child enjoying the ephemeral taste of a watermelon. He reflected the joy of the flavor, forgetting the difficulties experienced by his parents living day by day on the Pacific coast of Mexico. This also where I originated, grew up and went on to study journalism. Later I moved to Montreal Canada, to study Photography, and since I have worked as photographer for several newspapers, specializing in art and culture. My work has been exhibited in Mexico, Canada and Chile.
Fabian Coutiño Cortés. EL Paisanito (fellow countrymen). Photograph.
Clare Day There are many layers to my work. It is about surfaces, texture, and imprints, but it is also filled with memories of childhood; being on the beach and collecting curious found objects. There are also darker themes exploring an inner emotional world. The ceramic pieces are mainly made from red earthenware, imprinted using found objects and clay stamps that I have made. Layers are built up of glazes, oxides and small fragments of found glass. The work is mainly on a human scale; something you can hold in your hand. I also make mono prints using clay to print from. The clay gives a soft and richly textured feel to the prints. www.claredayceramics.com
Clare Day. Small lidded pot. Ceramic pot.
ARTISTS Daniel Diaz Born in 1973 in Cuba, Daniel Diaz graduated from Art Academy in Cuba in 1997 with a B.A. in Fine Art (sculpture and illustration). In 1998, he won the first prize in ‘Small Format Art Competition”, Cuba. He lived and worked in Trinidad, Cuba, as a freelance artist until 2001. In 2002 Daniel was invited to Finland to be part of a cultural exchange programme, where he spent six month taking various art courses and participating in differents art project and events as well as exhibiting in Helsinki, Saavo and Porvoo. His work has been exhibited in Cuba, Finland, Spain and England. “ We are wonderfully, blissfully cocooned in our own world, unaware of the longing for Homeland and the endless search for identity “ Daniel’s latest work is a combination of accidental and deliberate forms, where self-created images are the projection of sub consciousness.
Daniel Diaz. Hope. Mixed media on board. 20 x 30 cm.
Daniel has been living and working in Surrey, United Kingdom since 2003. www.daniel-diaz.co.uk
Sidney Diongzon I'm a photographer from California, and I currently live in England, photographing as much of the UK as I go. My first passion is filmmaking, and I tend to express the storytelling of film in my photography. I like to travel the world shooting weddings, portraits, editorial, and commercial work. I like working with fun people with passion because it makes my work day more fun. I live an adventurous life because, well, that's how I roll. I hate spiders, but I like making new friends. So if you see me around, say hi. I like when people do that. www.sidneydiongzon.com www.crevstudios.com
Sidney Diongzon. Leaf in hand. Photograph.
ARTISTS Marcus Dyer Is it really possible to make a meaningful piece of music on the subject of hope and poverty using machines manufactured and assembled in factories using poorly paid workers on sixty hour weeks? Or constructed with components made from rare-earth metals controlled and supplied by violent militia and repressive governments in third world countries? Sadly, it seems that while the technological infrastructure which surrounds us provides limitless possibilities for self expression and communication, this hope has only become affordable through the exploitation of others’ poverty.
Marcus Dyer. Absence of appropriate affect. Sound Installation.
The soundtrack accompanying this exhibition has been created using a self-created generative/ procedural software program. Any perceived sense of meaning or purpose behind it is therefore most likely delusional. www.theskyisthinaspaperhere.co.uk
Anum Farooq Anum Farooq is a Biochemistry with Management graduate from Imperial, whilst completing a History of Art short course at UCL. Based in London, Anum Farooq is a teacher combining the Sciences and the Arts, as well as holding a capacity as a Mentor. She is involved in the Arts, and is interested in exploring the links between art, education, nature, architecture and culture. She holds a Healthcare Assistant qualification from the College of Pharmacy Practice, and is also RCSA member. Anum paints using mixed media, her creative interests also extend to poetry and inspirational writing forms. Anum began writing poetry since the age of twelve, initially to reflect upon her curiosities and the world around her, progressing to further explorations within the creative arts in an autodidactic manner. www.anumfarooq.com
Anum Farooq. Sacred nature. Acrylic on canvas. 40 x 60 cm.
ARTISTS Vanessa Ferrett Vanessa is a children’s portrait photographer from Bath. She recently took a three month sabbatical with her partner and their two young children to travel through South East Asia and Japan. They spent just under a month at the Home and Life Foundation in Thai Muang Province, Thailand; an orphanage set up in the aftermath of the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. The primary objective of their time at the orphanage was to help the management team improve and enhance a small cafe business they operated to help sustain themselves. It was an incredibly humbling and enlightening experience for the whole family and one they will treasure forever.
Vanessa Ferrett. Hula hula girl. Photograph. 40 x 60 cm.
All proceeds from the sale of these items will be split between Mercy in Action and Home and Life Foundation. www.vfphotography.co.uk
Gillian Flack Gillian has painted all her life and has been inspired by the changing light and mood of the countryside she paints, she uses the full richness and resonance of oil paints to create her well constructed and convincing compositions which typify and evoke the tranquility of our quiet landscapes in England. Much of her work is inspired by her surroundings in East Bedfordshire, but the opportunities presented by her frequent travels to Europe and beyond have given her the chance to adjust her palette and present the variations in light so different from the English environment. Gillian exhibits regularly in London at the Royal Institute for Oil Painters as well as other major and more local exhibitions throughout the country. Gillian had a picture hung in the Summer Exhibition 2010 at the Royal Academy. www.gillianflack.co.uk
Gillian Flack. A Summer’s Day. Oil on canvas. 60 x 50 cm.
ARTISTS Sue Flood Sue Flood is an award-winning wildlife photographer, author and filmmaker. Sue was born in North Wales and attended the Queen’s School, Chester. She then went on to study at Durham University, graduating in 1986 with an Honours degree in Zoology. After spending 3 years with wildlife production company Survival Anglia, she joined the world-renowned BBC Natural History Unit in 1993. Sue spent 11 years at the BBC, fulfilling a lifelong ambition to work with her childhood (and adult!) hero, Sir David Attenborough.
Sue Flood. Minke pass. Photograph. 59 x 42 cm.
Her BBC experience including working as Associate Producer on the award-winning series The Blue Planet, and also Planet Earth and the Disneynature movie Earth. The latter took her to the Arctic, Antarctic and the South Pacific, as a stills photographer and field assistant, supplying images for publicity for the series. “Minke Pass was taken as the minke whale swam under my zodiac, just a few feet away, in the Antarctic. I chose this image as it was recently highly commended in the Travel Photographer of the Year exhibition.” www.sueflood.com
Valeria Fulop Valeria was born and studied fine art in Hungary, influenced by its rich artistic culture, and history. As a young child she was trained as a gymnast and also learnt classical ballet and was amazed by the beauty of the human body. Her education started at Art and Design College before moving onto studying a BA Degree in graphic design. Valeria has had several exhibitions and has many of her artworks in private collections. She started taking commissions for portraits and working as a painter, illustrator and graphic designer in 1998. She works with various media from oil to digital painting. Her main purpose is to find that hidden inner beauty and restructure it within the work. Valeria Fulop lives and works in Bristol. She has recently exhibited in the Malvern Theatres and in the Grant Bradley Gallery in Bristol. www.bristol-portrait.co.uk
Valeria Fulop. The white wall. Acrylic on canvas. 76 x 76 cm.
ARTISTS Jennie Gilling I was introduced to the art of making paper whilst I was teaching crafts in London. I had previously studied textile design and found an affinity with the process of constructing and manipulating the surface. Paper has been my artistic focus since 1983. Iam a founder member of PaperWEIGHT, a National group of paper artists and I exhibit regularly with PaperWEIGHT and take part in the Wylye Valley Art Trail. The nineteenth century photographic method of Cyanotype, Jennie Gilling. Chervil Heart. which uses sunlight to develop the paper, is another medium Cyanotype & watercolour. 31 x 31 cm. on paper that I continue to explore. The process has so many unexpected subtleties - often creating extraordinary detail as with a delicate x-ray, the deep blue having a dream-like quality. I add a little watercolour to imply the colour seeping into or leaving the image, also gold or silver leaf as a flash to certain pieces. To date I have used over 80 different kinds of plants with this technique. My themes are always connected to the natural world and an idea can evolve into both written and art work. www.jenniegilling.co.uk
Bella Gingell There are many reasons why people paint, but for me it seems it is the common one of finding peace and reaching an understanding with the world. It is the journey between conception and the idea of an image and then working on it which is almost compulsory. Not all go according to plan, but it is by making mistakes and playing with ideas that I am able to create. I work mainly in oils but also play with water colour and keep my hand in with pencil sketches. Like most I have loved creating from the start, but after studying water colour and then fine art at Bath I have leaned toward the world of design and abstract, in oils, water colour and Indian inks. Having exhibited locally, I am looking forward to continuing showing and sharing in the area. I love what I do and hope you enjoy viewing my pictures as much as I did when making them. Bella Gingell. Bridge. Oil on canvas. Exhibitions include Bradford-on-Avon, Freshford, Pylle Gallery 80 x 60 cm. near Glastonbury and Walcot Chapel Galleries in Bath.
ARTISTS
Helena Hernandez Helena Hernández carried out her studies of Visual Arts at the National School of Plastic ENAP, UNAM in Mexico. Her plastic work centres its practices in the processes of social dialogue that offers her the possibility of opening a diversity of perspectives toward everyday life - creating pieces that are involved in the realities of the community in which they are built.
Helena Hernandez. Service. Photograph.
Art for her is a process in action, is mobile, something that questions and also puts in play the values of social space; an adventure in development, that finds itself as an event in different contexts and social variables; it is a system of relations to be reinvented. Helena has participated in several collective and individual exhibitions throughout Mexico, Germany, Spain and the UK. Her work has also been shortlisted in several prestigious art competitions. Helena is based in Stuttgart, Germany. local-artists.org/users/helena-hernandez helenahernandez.carbonmade.com
Ann Hines I like to paint people in different situations. I try to tell a story, capture a moment, suggest the relationships and depict the overall ‘colour’ of a place. My paintings in this exhibition are interpretations of scenes observed in Uganda and Morocco. www.trinityartists.co.uk
Ann Hines. Heat of the day. Acrylic. 47 x 57 cm.
ARTISTS
Simon Hopkinson The paintings arise from my longstanding interest in British urban scenery. I view areas of sprawl & decay not as eyesores but as subject matter to be explored. An accidental beauty occurs when the modern is adjoined by a crumbling past - a result of the ongoing process of manmade change & natural decline, with nature in control. It is possible to experience something eternal & mysterious by simply taking a stroll around a town or city, away from recognised attractions. To my eyes everything - weeds, litter, brutalistic architecture - can appear beautiful. Form is a secondary, surface concern.
Simon Hopkinson. Subway six. Acrylic on canvas. 40 x 50 cm.
www.simonhopkinsonart.co.uk
Jane Lee Horton "A personal visual vocabulary is what I’m striving for, where less means more. Not contrived, but natural to the eye, speaking to the soul. I gather and select, place and rearrange until an emotion surfaces and is sated. Sometimes it takes many weeks of waiting and gathering until the right pieces come together. It’s always worth it and I’m always delightfully surprised" Jane Lee Horton regularly exhibits in the UK and US and has work in private collections worldwide . www.saatchionline.com/janeleehorton www.janeleehorton.daportfolio.com
Jane Lee Horton. And His great wonders see. Mixed media collage. 34 x 42 cm.
ARTISTS Ben Hughes Ben Hughes is a self taught landscape and portrait artist. Predominantly painting in oils, he has exhibited widely across the south of England and is a member of the Bath Society of Artists. His prizes include the Davison Award from the Royal Society of British Artists and the Best Emerging Artist Prize and Viewers Choice Award from the Royal West of England Academy. His work is included in numerous private collections including that of Standard Chartered Bank and in 2006 he was selected by the National Trust for their Contemporary British Artists cards. www.benhughesart.co.uk
Ben Hughes. Car ferry Thailand. Oil on board. 76 x 68 cm.
Julia Hutchinson I am a local artist based in Bath and I work as a secondary Art Teacher at St Mary Redcliffe School in Bristol. I studied a Fine Art degree at Bath Spa and currently spend one day a week making Art. I enjoy working in a range of materials and themes my favourites being painting, drawing and mixed media. The works created for this exhibition are based on hope and freedom.
Julia Hutchinson. Flight. Acrylic, biro, household paint.
Amy Jo Amy Jo is a young artist working with the Freedom arts community in Bath. She works in a range of media and her interests are landscape, the earth and it’s textures, the infallible creation, and also the human form and psyche. In this show she will be displaying a few figurative drawings based on not only emotional pain and experience, but hope that there is healing. Amy has always been interested in the therapeutic aspects of art and making, and studied a foundation in Art Therapy followed by a BA in Fine Art at the university of Plymouth, before moving to join the arts community in Bath, and continues to try and develop her practice part-time. Amy Jo. Shame. Graphite & Charcoal.
ARTISTS Deborah Keiller I developed a passion for the visual arts while on a two year Foundation Course in Art in my late teens. I then went on the take a degree in Textile Design at Winchester School of Art. Having since raised 4 daughters, run a small business, organised events and trained others, I have come full circle and now practice my art full time. The phrase 'Wild goose chase' commonly suggests being in pursuit of something fruitless or futile. However, in celtic tradition, the Wild Goose represents the Holy Spirit. Wild Geese are know for their untamable and capracious nature. They are intrinsically free! I'm learning that by chasing the Great Wild Goose, my life is anything but fruitless! www.deborahkeiller.co.uk
Deborah Keiller. Suspense. Acrylics. 23 x 53 cm.
Amreen Khan Born in 1989 Berkshire, England, Amreen’s work investigates the concept of different cultures, in particular her struggle between two contrasting societies, one being her origins in Pakistan and the other, Western society. Amreen transfers her knowledge of these cultures into her paintings on canvas. Solid colours which originate from traditional Asian clothing are used by making paint from raw pigments and by using silkscreen, originating from East Asia, which gives the work a richness of colour. The designs used are originally from an ancient technique called Mehndi (henna’). The use of these different techniques is used to introduce the relationship and struggle between these two very different cultures. www.amreenkhan.com
Amreen Khan. Pattern No.1. Pen on paper. Digital print. 29 x 21 cm.
ARTISTS Pilar Lahuerta I was born in Mexico City in 1958. Painting became a passion and at young age and I did the equivalent of GCSE in Art from 1972 to 1975 and finished my degree in Social Work in Mexico City 1980. In 1985 I moved to Zaragoza, Spain, my parents’ home city and obtained an Art Diploma from the Art school .I continued my studies at the Alejandro Canada’s Academy, a well known artist in Spain. In 1987 I moved to London and undertook further education in Art at the Camden Institute. Whilst in London I exhibited in various places such as Willesden Library, The Mexico Gallery in Hampstead, in the Latin American House in West Hampstead and The Brioche restaurant. I also exhibited in and many different churches around London when I was part of the five women artists plus group and my pictures have been included in the Catalogue record of the British Library. In 1991 I became a drawing and painting tutor.
Pilar Lahuerta. Purepecha. Oil on canvas. 52 x 52 cm.
Since 2011, I moved to Bristol, here I am still teaching children and women whilst working on a new series of paintings and exhibition projects. www.pilarlahuerta.co.uk
Kay Lewis–Bell Following a career in Education Kay Lewis–Bell studied Fine Art Painting in Bath Spa School of Art. Since graduating in 2004 she has worked mainly from her studio at Shave Farm South Brewham . There she has the space to paint and explore other mediums and concepts. She has established herself as a figurative painter in Wessex and has exhibited in England and France. Lewis – Bell is a painter who moves the paint around the canvas like words on a page. She does not paint portraits but is caught by the glint of an eye, the smudge of a lip or the slope of a shoulder. From these beginnings she strives to capture the essence of the Kay Lewis-Bell. Listen. Oil on canvas. images she has collected. 80 x 80 cm.
ARTISTS Alexia Liakounakou Alexia Liakounakou has lived and worked in Sierra Leone and has studied the arts of Asia/Africa and Social Anthropology in the UK. She is a freelance writer and photographer interested in culture, society, the human body and its behaviors. Having faced the effects of poverty, and of hope, together with growing 'poverty-discrimination' toward her home country, Greece, she believes that the arts are the most direct and impartial way to comment upon society regardless of race, class, and other social labels.
Alexia Liakounakou. Free. Photograph. 45 x 38 cm.
www.krop.com/alexialia
Bhari Long Bhari has loved painting since childhood and over the years she has exhibited across England. In 2005 she realized a lifelong dream to devote most of her time to painting. Married to Artist James Mark Long, they held their first joint exhibition in 2007 at The Forum, in Bath where they currently live. Their more recent Exhibitions have been in Bath, Bournemouth, Bury St. Edmunds, Cheltenham, Chipping Camden, Eastbourne, Hastings, London, Newquay and Southampton.Their Fathers were also professional Artists. www.propheticartists.com
Bhari Long. Rejoice. Watercolour. 41 x 51 cm.
ARTISTS James Mark Long James has been working since 1993. His wildlife and animal portraits confidently portray the high gloss of an animal’s coat or the texture of it’s fur. His attention to detail means that from a distance the paintings are so realistic they look like photographs, whilst up close you feel as if you can almost stroke the fur. He invited Sir David Shepherd, prominent UK Wildlife Artist and Conservationist, to his first solo Exhibition in Bath in May 2002. Sir David commented: “James has considerable talent and I’m not in the least surprised he has decided to launch into painting as a full-time career”. In September 2002 James exhibited ‘Sumatran Siesta’, which received great acclaim as “the new David Shepherd” at the Chippenham Citadel Gallery’s annual ‘Best of’ Art Exhibition.
James Long. Highway of Holiness. Acrylic. 61 x 76 cm.
A giant pride of 100 individually decorated, life-size lion sculptures took over the streets of the World Heritage City of Bath in 2010. James was commissioned by the Trevor Osbourne Property Group to paint one 'Louie' located outside St. Michael's Church near The Podium. As well as painting commissions for people, James gives individual tuition, demonstrations to Art Groups, runs Art Workshops, and exhibits and paints at various events across the UK, USA and Europe. www.jamesmarklong.com
Darragh Mason-Field Darragh Mason-Field was born in Dublin and studied Communications in Dublin City University, majoring in Photography. He has travelled extensively across Asia and India and his subjects include, Poverty, Martial Art and Religion. His work has appeared in a number of publications including BBC in Pictures, The Western People and The Guardian online and shown in a number of galleries in Europe, London, New York and Bristol.
Darragh Mason-Field. Stung Meanchey Girls and Tuk Tuk. Photograph.
ARTISTS
Paul McIntyre Paul McIntyre B.Sc. (Hons.), MBPsS, was born in Coventry and now lives in Bristol. After leaving school, Paul pursued a career in the Civil Service. Having studied Psychology at University and as a member of "The British Psychological Society", it has been noted by many that this self-taught artist introduces a psychological ambiance that breathes life into his paintings. Today, Paul McIntyre has hundreds of pictures in homes throughout the world. He has established himself as a popular international artist with a wide appeal. www.paulmcintyre.co.uk Paul McIntyre. Windows to Peace and Happiness. Oil on canvas. 100 x 100 cm.
James McLellan My drawings focus on the silent flux of information that is all around us. We are connected. We perceive ourselves anonymous in a universe of information we can plug into at any time. A world where documentation becomes vastly superior to experience. The trade of information. The world is turning itself inside out dissolving around us as it becomes the reflection of the simulation. The hope that technology will liberate, will empower, will save is a fallacy. Exploitation is inherent in these systems. jamesmclellan.carbonmade.com
James McLellan. Reflections in the Void. Pen on paper. 20 x 26cm.
ARTISTS Hesham Mohamed I’m an Egyptian artist and I teach art in City College Peterborough. I graduated from art education faculty in Cairo and have been practicing art since 2003. During my practical life as an artist, I’ve developed a deep fascination for the beauty of perspective in drawing. I believe it does attract the eye of the viewer into the art work and make them live inside it whether the art work presents realistic composition or not. Hence most of my art works have perspective in them. This explains why I’m a great fan of Mc.Escher and why I’m also a fan of the flexibility and the beauty of the line. Usage of the line combined with perspective always creates something constant for the eye to look at. In the 2 works I’m submitting, ‘Vision’ and ‘Companion’, I try to use very simple compositions in order to emphasise the topic while at the time giving the eyes something to look at and question. ‘The Vision’ depicts the desire to reach the aim. No matter what difficulties might be in the way of reaching the aim, hope is the motivation that that pushes us to achieve it.
Hesham Mohamed. Companion. Pen on Paper 50 x 35 cm
‘Companion’ is simply a loyal friend who stands by a homeless man keeping him company while people pass by him every day. He is a loyal companion, accepting and nonjudgemental in a world a man is struggling to be part of.
Richard Olver My pictures aim to create an harmonious image through colour and form. Using actual scenes as a starting point, I often simplify, exaggerate and intensify to produce an idealised, imagined world. Many of my pictures have been influenced by visits to the Indian sub continent, the Mediterranean and Africa where I was attracted to the intensity of light and shade. I support a girls’ educational project in Sierra Leone: I have included scenes of daily life near Lakka in this exhibition. I work in watercolour, gouache, inks, pastel or a combination of these mediums. I have lived in Bath for 30 years and took up painting 15 years ago, having been a teacher in Wiltshire for 25 years. Part of my studies for my degree included Greek architecture which has been another source of inspiration for me.
Richard Olver. I sell water from a bucket on my head. Watercolour. 56 x 65 cm.
ARTISTS Sarah Parker Sarah moved to Bath to study Creative Arts at Bath Spa University, where she specialised in Screenprinting. After graduating she went on to explore the world of fashion, screenprinting and selling t-shirts and other apparel. She continued work on her prints alongside working in art and crafts workshop for adults with hearing difficulties in Bath. Although continuing her interest in screenprinting she started to explore more digital forms of print. After her daughter was born last year she now works on her artwork from home alongside being a mum! Sarah Parker. Hope’s flight. Giclee Print. 50 x 35 cm.
Carol Peace Carol Peace studied sculpture at Winchester School of Art and drawing at The Prince’s Drawing School. She has obtained numerous commissions both public and private and solo shows in London, Athens, Zurich, France, Spain and Holland. In 2007 she co-founded the Bristol Drawing School and is currently the artistic director there. She is a sculptor who could not work without drawing. The process of drawing, that intuitive response, is what she aims for in her work. While some of the sculptures are layered with meaning, a direct and honest response is often present. She sculpts in clay, which like charcoal is quick to make marks with, once finished it is cast into resin or bronze when those fluid marks of the making are then fixed “Carol Peace’s figures inhabit an inner world of self-reflection. She derives her knowledge of the human body from detailed life drawings but when she models them in clay the figures come from her imagination reaching beyond mere depiction. With their delicately balanced forms and rock like plinths they invite the viewer to mediate on the human condition, the step from adolescence to adult hood or the vulnerability of a mother and child.” Elspeth Moncrieff 2007. www.carolpeace.com
Carol Peace. Couple looking right. Edition of 25 in Iron Resign.
ARTISTS Tom Perceval I work with materials that have been designed to create financial, not aesthetic, gain. I aim to transform this waste material, so it no longer simply replicates consumerist semiotics. The work aims to expose the illogical and unequal nature of capitalism’s distribution of wealth and resources, whilst allowing the viewer to examine their own concept of value. One man’s rubbish becomes another man’s treasure. Here in the West, many of us have the choice to excessively consume, leaving plastic wrappers to endlessly pile up in landfill, whilst millions die of hunger and poverty. I wish to shine light on the inherently illogical state of capitalism, whilst also expressing a glimmer of hope, at the idea of radically transforming it as a social system.
Tom Perceval. Cultivate No. 4. Frame Print. 60 x 34 cm.
Tony Pick Tony Pick is one of the leading landscape photographers with an international client base. He runs his successful 'Coastal Images' and 'Tony Pick Photography' business from his fine art gallery and studio in the beautiful seaside town of Aldeburgh, Suffolk. Tony Pick is passionate about photography and his business and strives to inspire others to ignite their passion for photography. The landscapes and seascapes which drew Tony to Suffolk are still a huge inspiration to him who is never happier than when he is on the beach with his camera either on his own or inspiring others. www.coastalimages.co.uk
Tony Pick. Boardwalk. Phptograph. 62 x 47 cm.
ARTISTS Louise Plaatjies Louise Plaatjies has always been inspired by landscapes. Growing up surrounded by the extraordinary vistas of South Africa, her art seeks to capture both the scale and the beauty of those views, and the views she has experienced around the world. Using big, bold, and bright brushstrokes and pallet knives, Plaatjies hopes her pieces will transport people to a place of inspiration and imagination. Driven by a desire to help people remember and seek out beauty, Plaatjies paintings allow her to express her deepest passion. Her work celebrates the wonder of nature and the majesty of creation. It is about capturing those places where the land and sky seem to go on forever.
Louise Plaatjies. Peace. Mixed media. 76 x 61 cm.
Lucy Reynolds I am an artist with a background in Graphic Design, based In Bristol, UK. I completed my degree in fashion design and illustration but had previously studied fine art, graphic design and textile design. I have been working as a graphic designer and illustrator for 9 years as well as being trained as a fully qualified lithographic and digital printer. Away from graphic design I love drawing. Most of my art work is digital. I find inspiration in old Victorian photographs, ghost, birds, architecture and art in all its manifestations. My work has been exhibited around the UK and published in several art and illustration magazines. lucyreynoldsart.squarespace.com
Lucy Reynolds. The death of Detroit . Digital paint and collage 55 x 27.5 cm
ARTISTS Amy Robbins As soon as I heard that there was going to be an exhibition to raise awareness and money for poverty in the Phillipines I wanted to put my contribution towards this worthy cause. I wanted to create a piece of simplistic artwork which would have a great impact, showing how differently we live our lives compared to the people who live in the Phillipines. This piece was created using one tool: a pen. I wanted to create a rough texture to the image, so by using rough angles of lines to shade the clothing and hair, I was able to create a more 'scruffy' look which emphasises how poor these people live.
Amy Robbins. All they hope for. Paper, ink
This is a very minimalistic piece of art. I wanted to leave a lot of blank space around the girl and child to represent that these people have very little in their lives, almost like they are isolated from everything. All they hope for...is survival.
Rachel Robbins I studied art and design at the city of Bath college a few years ago and since then have sketched many portraits. I have been working as deputy manager in the Midsomer Norton mercy in action shop. The first piece is called Hope in her eyes, it is of a fillipino baby girl mostly done in pencil with the eyes in vibrant brown watercolour and the background in charcoal. The black and white aspect represents poverty whilst the only colour in this piece -in the babys eyes represent hope. The photograps are called ‘Ladies Challenge Panoramic’ and ‘The Brecons’. The Ladies Challenge is a weekend away where women can participate in many activities and challenges to raise money for Mercy in Action. These two photos were taken on the 22 mile walk we did over 3 of the Brecon’s highest mountains.
Rachel Robbins. Hope in her eyes. Mixed media.
ARTISTS Björn Rothe Bjorn Rothe has been working as an artist since 2006. His work has been inspired by history, the news, documentaries and movies. Rothe creates partly humorous and partly critical stories easy to understand. Interpretation is up to the viewer. “Photos are like pieces of a puzzle for me; I join them together and get a big picture with a great story of my world around me.” www.riseart.com
Bjorn Rothe. Rich Kids Poor kids. Photograph. 85 x 85 cm.
Mary Rouncefield I am a printmaker and artist working mainly in screen print. I am based in Bristol and currently am a member of Spike Print Studio. Many of my screen prints feature mathematical graphs or patterns, but I have recently been working on a series of animal prints and looking at 'animal patterns'. In 2007, whist still a student, I was shortlisted for the Jerwood Drawing Prize. Other exhibitions include, the 7th International Mini Print Exhibition organised by the Printmaker's Council, the Royal West of England Academy Autumn Exhibition in 2009 and Wrexham Print International in 2011. I also make artist's books which I print and bind by hand. These occassionally appear in exhibitions including 'White Heat' organised by Kaleid Editions in London. www.maryrouncefield.co.uk Mary Rouncefield. Travelling in hope. Screen Print. 48 x 58 cm.
ARTISTS Chinwe Roy Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy's talent spans a wide and varied canvas. She captures the essence of her subjects with her life studies in oils and pastels and has earned international recognition. Although the subjects nearest her heart are portraits in oils, the artist also sculpts in clay. Chinwe Chukwuogo-Roy was born in Eastern Nigeria and obtained her B.A. Hons. degree in Graphic Design in England, after which she moved to painting. Her portraits are based on the traditional method but with a dash of colour that reflects her origin and a 'joie de vivre' that gives them a life of their own. Chinwe's paintings have successfully captured the vibrancy and breadth of the African culture. Her cultural series has picked subjects from the different countries she has visited to produce a panorama of the many aspects of African Life. The Africa - Past, Present, Future series is a critical look at the continents rich history and civilisations bringing the art lover an insight into its vibrant past.
Chinwe Roy. Mother & Child II. Lithograph. 85 x 66.5 cm.
Chinwe' portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II, commissioned to mark Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee, was unveiled to widespread critical acclaim in 2002. www.chinweroy.com
Maureen Savage Many of my water colour pictures or drawing and ink illustrations go with stories for my grandchildren Mother & Child Come here child, let me take you by the hand. Let me carry you, wash you hair. Your Mamma will always be there. Child, sit with me a while, let me see your lovely smile. Come here child and playupon the golden sand. You hungry child? We walked long miles you sleep now to-morrow be better day.
Maureen Savage.Faith, Hope and Poverty. Watercolour. 16 x 56 cm.
ARTISTS
Kate Scully Kate is a trained artist with fifteen years experience. Her style is a mixture of acrylic and pastel pencils which give a unique and textured image to create a feeling of movement. Kate generally paints from photographs when undertaking commissions, but likes to spend some time with her subjects first, in order to further understand and capture some of their personality and characteristics. Children working in India 1 and 2 are of children working in a village called Bihar in India which is in one of the poorest states in India. One face, a thousand words is of a boy working in Sikkim in North east India. African boy is of a boy my husband and I met in a township South Africa. www.katescully.co.uk
Kate Scully. One face, a thousand words. Acrylic and Pastel pencil. 60 x 42 cm.
Dawn Stevenson What fascinates me in art is experimenting with the combination of different textures, media, and styles of painting to try and create an original style of portrait art. I always hope to portray through my art the emotion and sadness of the situations people in poverty face around the world. I am greatly inspired by two of my favourite artists – Anselm Kiefer and Guy Denning, as well as war-photographer Don McCullin, from who’s photographs some of my paintings have been based.
Dawn Stevenson. Untitled No. 2. Pastel.
ARTISTS Chris Stone I have been photographing landscapes, seascapes, skyscapes and cityscapes for over twenty-five years, and am inspired both by the coastal features and crisp clear light characteristic of the western fringes of the British Isles, and by the built environment of my home town of Bath and the commercial architecture found in the neighbouring city of Bristol. A key part of my personal experience is an unfolding relationship with a creative God who inspires me to convey aspects of the spiritual realm through the visible scene. During a visit to the island of Mindanao in the southern Philippines, I was struck by the enormous resilience of the people there and their ability to put their hope in God despite facing severely challenging circumstances. The pieces exhibited here attempt in a small way to express something of God’s rescue from the oppression of poverty and despair, and the release of the Spirit to rise above the earthquake, wind and fire, and find freedom.
Chris Stone. Deliverance. Photograph. 50 x 70 cm.
Chris Stone - Red Earth Photography www.wix.com/RedEarthPhotography/landscapes
Tamas Szikszay Tamas Szikszay is a Hungarian born artist who worked for five years with a sculptor and this inspirational, creative job helped him to greatly improve his artistic skills. During this time he took lessons from a private teacher and became a member of the KERT (GARDEN) group with fellow artists. He currently lives and works in Bristol, UK. "I get motivation from every day life, family, friends, and my hobby long distance running. I love to run for hours and this provides me with creativity and inspiration for painting. The long hours clear my mind and give me time to think about new ideas. Sometimes I have a subject which I want to do, sometimes I just follow my thoughts and the final product evolves.� www.saatchionline.com/profiles/index/id/249557
Tamas Szikszay. Bright Future III. Acrylic on canvas. 89 x 120 cm.
ARTISTS
Madeleine Town Madeleine is a painter and printmaker. She produces spontaneous lino cuts. Her paintings are concerned with creating atmospheric imagined landscapes often populated by reticent animals.
Madeleine Town. White dove. Lynotone
Karen Wallis Karen Wallis draws and paints the everyday world. She is curious about the role of images and how they are perceived by the viewer, in particular how visual rhetoric influences their perceptions through historical reference, methods of display and curatorial input. If appropriate, her projects can extend into installation, intervention, performance or digital media. www.axisweb.org/artist/karen-wallis Karen Wallis. Flowers in the snow. Oil on canvas on tv. 60 x 50 x 70 cm
Carrie White Carrie White is a mother of 3 children, 2 of whom are autistic. She is a qualified Primary teacher but after being diagnosed with M.E. had to leave permanent employment. As an emerging artist from Essex, she is currently undertaking a Fine Art Degree through the OCA and uses art as a way to portary her feelings connected with everyday life and the struggles it sometimes brings. She has produced some commission pieces ranging from animals to portraits to fantasy art. The piece for this exhibition is based around Hope, that all children are born with hope and unlike adults can often see beauty where others cannot.
Carrie White. Hope’s Garden. Acrylic.
ARTISTS
Vikki Yeates I have been illustrating books and producing artwork since the early 90s, when I graduated from Brighton University. Projects have included: Children's Books; Mind, Soul and Body; Poetry; Tarot. I would describe my work as 'Gothic Art', inspired by sinister tales and macabre stories. vikkiyeates.daportfolio.com
Vikki Yeates. Let me in. Oil pastel & lino Ink. 29 x 29 cm.
William Young Born in 1994, I am currently studying Fine Art in Bath. Inspired by my travels across Eastern Europe and Asia, my photographs aim to document cultural differences and the distinct contrasts between the daily lives of those I’ve met and myself. The images featured include a Lao child I met on the streets of Vientiane and the corrugated metal shack where he sleeps with his family. I currently work on 35 and 120mm film, inspired by late photojournalists Dan Eldon and Chris Hondros and intend to document further travels across less known places in Asia when I embark on a round the world trip in November.
William Young. Lao Street Child. Photograph. 50 x 70 cm.
Mercy in Action would like to thank all volunteers, artists, organisers and sponsors for making this event possible. Catalogue design and layout by Pilar CortĂŠs and Lucy Reynolds.