Outloud exhibition

November 23, 2023

Outloud exhibition

The Out Loud exhibition is in its second year, curated by Dan Rhead Brown in a space owned by a friend who is a tattoo artist. The bottom floor of his studio is a creative space with room for a gallery and workshops. He's attracted some good coverage including from the local Sentinel and secured sponsors including handyman club, men unite and women unite.

It's a local exhibition with artists from across Stoke; some I've come across or met before so it was a nice networking opportunity. There's some great signage, a website and catalogue; a really nicely curated independent exhibition.

"Jocks baccy tin" oil on linen paper

The painting was originally intended to be on a canvas but ended up on a piece of linen paper and a frame didn't seem appropriate so I tore the edges. It's akin to a paupers painting in reference to a pauper funeral. It’s emotionally driven and recognisable as one of my paintings but my approach has definitely been impacted by the subject matter.

Originally it was going to be titled "Held" but in putting the description together, the person it belonged to needed to be relevant.

Painting information.

The label “Alcoholic” was an effective dehumaniser, severing how I was able to consider the man that should have been my dad. Addiction replaced him. Removed from family albums and remembered for his failures, he wasn’t missed from the space that he used to occupy. As a child it was too “complicated for me to understand”. As an adult, the label is wearing off. This painting depicts his old tobacco tin and explores my relationship with it and the person that used to hold it.

I priced the work at £50, not expecting it to sell and left instructions with Dan that he could share on Insta but don't tag me our share on Facebook, in an effort to control who sees it as its very personal.

Dan contacted me on the day after the opening night to tell me that it had sold to someone who'd just lost her uncle; they'd had an emotive reaction to it and wanted to gift it to her brother who was very close to her uncle. I'm glad it resonated with someone and may help someone else to deal with the complexities around people, addiction and loss.

There's a 20% commission to Mental Health charities.