Something to be proud of!

 Below are three selected images from the Project Afterbirth exhibition I am currently part of, my lino print can be seen just by the window in the first image. To see more from the show you can visit or buy a catalog from the donate button from the link to their website below, money from the catalog is going towards funding for the project.
At the bottom of this page is my submission and statement that goes with the piece. This work is totally different to my normal practice and that is because the emotions at that time were totally different to my normal ones!  I like painting landscapes but sometimes we have to diversify!

Project Afterbirth PV photo by  Kris Jager

Project Afterbirth PV Photo by Kris Jager

Project Afterbirth The Exhibition photo by Kris Jager

“Pioneering”, Dani Garavelli, Scotland on Sunday

“Fascinating”, Carol Burns, Devon Life

EXHIBITION: Project AfterBirth
GALLERY: White Moose
DATES: Sat 3 Oct 2015 – Fri 13 Nov 2015
TIMES: Tuesday – Saturday 11 am – 5 pm
ENTRY: FREE
LOCATION: White Moose, Moose Hall, Trinity Street, Barnstaple EX32 8HX

https://projectafterbirth.wordpress.com/ 

Submission statement.

This piece came about in 2006 from wanting to express the initial feeling of being told that my nine month foetus was going to be a still birth.

I wanted the artwork to allow the viewer to feel although they were being told something dark by a bunch of faceless strangers.

My experience of birth has not been a good one I now have two healthy boys but both had to be born by caesarean section and taken straight into intensive care the first after a four day labour. The middle child was a still birth the discovery by the doctors was horrific and I felt like they were all looking down at me in disbelief and horror I felt small useless and very powerless.

They all gathered around my bed including my husband discussing my options which seemed to include go home and wait for contractions to start and have a natural labour which could have been another week to wait.

To me this was not something that I could mentally deal with and insisted on the baby being removed surgically that day. They didn’t want to do this and tried to send me home I begged with them to ring my own doctor who was away on holiday and this artwork is me looking up at them willing this to happen. They did as I asked.

Two months after my still birth to block out the pain I signed up for a printing course something completely different to my usual practice of acrylic painting. I felt the lino cutting process allowed me to clearly illustrate simply with one solid block of black ink how I felt that day. It stands alone from all my other artwork before and since, and has remained hidden along with the memory.