Painting with Spirulina & Propolis

Inspiration can arrive in many forms and I had a lot of fun with my most recent paintings as it allowed me to get all experimental with propolis, kelp and algae and I discovered a beautiful effect when diluted with water colours. 

I am currently working on a series of abstract cell membrane/wildlife inspired works which when dry is then laminated to give a glossy and preserving finish......please check out below. 

148mmx210mm/5.8x8.3in
   

The green effect has been created simply by diluting spirulina & water............
                                       

                                        

   

A visit to Croatia in the summer gave me access to purchase some of the local propolis and I found it gave an interesting effect when diluted & combined with water colours. The yellow which you can see in the picture above is Croatian propolis and is from the 'cell membrane' collection.

                                         

Dots n Dots n Dots

 Eagle


                               Dragonfly 

                     

Sickle Cell Exhibition Homerton University Hospital, Hackney 2012-2103

'Sickle Cell in Hackney'

This exhibition presents a range of work focused upon sickle cell. It reflects the experiences and interests of patients, scientists, doctors and the local community of Hackney.

Sickle Cell is the most prevalent genetic disorder in the UK but suffers for being the least understood. 

The intention of this exhibition is to raise awareness through creativity and positive action.

"Our message is that sickle cell does not define or limit us in any way. We are living our lives to the fullest, attaining our dreams, ultimate potential and aspirations; regardless of having sickle cell. We may got knocked down here and there, and be sick often, but every morning we are alive is a great testimony that we are on this earth for a purpose. We celebrate our experiences, live in the moment, and cherish each day." Sicklecellwariors.com

Patients: Abisola, Joseph, Kevin, Shane
Funded by: The Sickle Cell Triathlon Fundraiser Sept 2012 Brighton, Laurence Pengelly & Danielle Dionne Cavanagh-Keane
Contributors: Community Sickle Cell & Thalassaemia Service, Dr Neville Clare, Eunice Louison, Francis John, Homerton Hospital Sickle Cell Service, Hackney Sickle Cell Group
Curator:Danielle Dionne Cavanagh-Keane

Kevin, Abisola, Shane

Abisola is a young woman who suffers from Sickle Cell Disease. In 2012, Abisola was informed by doctors that she she only had days to live......Her courage, beauty,  strength and dignity to want to continue with her life is testament to her ability to apply herself through creativity. Abisola often documents her time & experiences spent in hospital through writing and self photography.

"Internal bleeding left me fighting for my life and the Doctors had no explanation and  I am very grateful to be alive. I refuse to be a sickle cell victim, I am proud to be sickle cell positive because sickle cell is one of the good things that has happened in my life, aside from the pain it has made me see life in different perspectives and without my medical condition I might be a shallow minded person who looks down on people without respect, thinking that I am better than any of you. I love my life and I am thankful to be alive today". 

Sickle Cell
Slide A & Slide B



Shane is a young & gifted musician who has the ability to apply his passion for music & lead the way in creating a positive platform for sickle cell. Shane is a rapper who expresses & shares his experiences of living with sickle cell through his lyrics. 

"Wake up in agony but its sum fin that you try bypass, 

invite your friends as company u buss jokes and you try laugh

then it starts to get worse later when the night casts

any plans you had see you n go right past.

gotta live life as best as you can

sometimes sickle takes the front seat so its best that you stand

its made even worse when for systems down and a bug got in

movements down to a minimum by the pain from the blood clotting

theres been a couple times when sickle has tried to dead I

but despite it all you must live life and keep your head high

just a little insight to this life is what I'm showing you

thankful for my blood bro's n sisters who know what I'm going through

not sure what i would have done without my family and all the support

and if you wished me well at any point I'm grateful for the thought"

     Image provided by the Homerton University Hematology Laboratory 

Suffering in silence, oh God, why me?
Indifference from the ignorant
Cut away at the disease & leave me whole
Keen to feel normal like everyone else
Love me for who I am not what I have
Eventually things will get better?

Cling to the hope that one day there will be a cure

Education is the key
Let me explain to you how I feel
Listen to my story & try to understand my journey


Darkness descends & another sleepless night waits for me
I'll try to maintain a positive attitude
Stuck in a recurrent rut
Easier to hide the truth
Allowing family & friends to care
So look on the bright side!
Eventually things will get better?

Kevin is conscious and dedicated to empowering others that suffer with sickle cell. Kevin is a creative writer and leads a popular creative writing class at Hackney Library and is very much a central figure in connecting the creative outside to the hospital. Kevin is currently organising a trip for sickle cell patients to visit the Tate Britain to view the artist Donald Rodney's work 'In the House of My Father'. 

http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/display/donald-rodney-display

Rodney’s work addresses ideas of identity, family, home and Britishness – particularly with respect to a British, Afro-Caribbean diaspora.  He became part of a generation of British-born black artists, filmmakers and performers who began to challenge accepted notions of what it meant to be British and contributed to an emergent black British consciousness. Rodney worked in a variety of media. Initially he made paintings but later created photographs, mixed media installations and works incorporating electronic media. Much of Rodney’s imagery stems from the fact that he had suffered from sickle cell anaemia from infancy. Rodney developed a highly personal vocabulary, for instance incorporating discarded x-rays as raw materials, though intending these references to medicine and the body to refer metaphorically to social sicknesses, including racism, police brutality or apartheid, as much as to his personal circumstances. 

Joesph's work takes inspiration from the late artist Donald Rodney who explores sickle cell and x-rays to consider the social implications associated with the disease. 

The x-ray identifies the area of Joseph's right shoulder which is affected by Avascular Necrosis (AVN, a complication caused by sickle cell which affects the blood and bones, resulting in pain. 


Franics John is the Chair of the Hackney Sickle Cell Group and has been campaigning on behalf of sickle cell patients in Hackney for over thirty years.

"For all the years that I have campaigned for Sickle cell Disease, my objective has always been for there to be NO MORE CHILDREN TO BE BORN WITH SICKLE CELL DISEASE IN HACKNEY

-this is still true today". Francis John

"Respect and partnership between patients and health care professionals are key to dealing with this lifelong condition". Dr Neville Clare, An Oscar for My Troubles.

For further information on sickle cell, please follow the links below and keep a look out for future projects, soon to be taking place in and around Hackney involving the local community; food, music, art, healing.

http://www.xechemnigeria.com/products.htm
http://sicklecellwarriors.com/
http://www.justgiving.com/sicklecell-trifundraiser
http://www.homerton.nhs.uk/our-services/childrens-services-in-the-community/sickle-cell-thalassaemia-service/
http://www.dr-nevilleclare.co.uk/index.html
http://www.sicklecellsociety.org/websites/123reg/LinuxPackage22/si/ck/le/sicklecellsociety.org/public_html/

Surrender to the Rhythm

I have just completed two more paintings which takes inspiration from Shaun Mcniff's book 'Art Heals'. He offers a stunning array of entry points into the creative process and how to transform the most mundane aspects of life through artistic encounters and to engage with our most painful challenges creatively. I want to share with you a reference he makes to Henry Miller, under the chapter entitled 'Surrender to the Rhythm'.

"I know what the answer is: it is to give up, to relinquish, 

 to surrender, so that our little hearts may beat in unison

with the great heart of the world".

                -Henry Miller 

111 April, 2011

Inner Cell, March 2011

International Women's Day 08/03/2011

As part of International Women's Day (8th March 2011) my photograph was selected out of over one hundred applications to be exhibited as part of WOW, shown at the Southbank in London.
WOW - Women of the World - is a joyous celebration of the formidable strength and inventiveness of women - a pioneering, groundbreaking annual festival, which will present, recognise and celebrate women, and act as a conversation space for issues of all kinds.
'Through a series of debates, conversations, networking opportunities, presentations, showcases and places to meet, talk, and have fun, the Women of the World festival celebrates the potential and achievement of women and addresses some of the obstacles that women face across the world.

"Whilst travelling around South Africa I visited a lot of fishing harbour’s and it was interesting to discover that the preparation of the fish involved mainly female labourers. On this particular occasion I stood for hours admiring the skill, the precision and the speed in which the ‘fish lady’ gutted one fish after the other without a break and quite often without even having to look down and watch what her knife was doing. I feel the image captures an unspoken about marketable skill which is not only steeped in history but presents itself as a progressive attitude of women in the workforce all over the world".



Clink on the link to view all fourteen selected works.http://wearevv.wordpress.com/international-womens-day-exhibition-2011/

Freeze Festival 2010

As part of the Freeze Festival 2010, held at Battersea Power Station I was asked to exhibit three paintings using skate decks as my canvas. After hassling all my known skater friends for their old broken boards, I finally managed to get my hands on a few beauties and from dismantling the boards and sanding them down to their raw form, it was great to experiment with a new and exciting medium. Check out the results below....................

Transport Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts 2008

Creative Particle Detective Exhibition 2009

In Febuary of 2009 I curated an exhibition entitled CPD, exhibiting the works of seven artists over two nights located at the Jago Gallery, Redchurch Street, London.

"Today detective launched an enquiry into the creative particle. An investigation is being held over two days, exhibiting the work of seven emerging artists. The creative particle stands accused of suspicious crimes for exploiting the youth of film, installation, fashion, photography, painting, sculpture and music. This is a body of ethnographic evidence that will be used to explore the culture of situations and collaborations. The investigation is ongoing".

Exhibiting Artists include: Yetunde Adenyin, Chinyere Eze, analog_gray, Bronwen Marshall, Sascha Mikloweit, Christian Newton, David Wadstrom and Franek Zbieszczyk.

CPD Contributors include: Gosia Chalas, Robert Merrell and Phoebe Salem.