Portraits in Isolation Exhibition

I’m very excited to be involved in this fascinating exhibition at the Old Fire Station, Oxford, with fellow members of the Contemporary British Portrait Painters. A year on from our inaugural show, ‘Perceptions,’ at Cass Art Islington, this is a very different exhibition.

“‘Portraits in Isolation’ is an unusual group show. Unlike the camaraderie the first popular show promoted, this one will hang in an empty gallery for only one visitor. In Isolation.

This reflects the physical and emotional distance between so many of us in Lockdown and will be filmed to provide a lasting reminder of these extraordinary times and the group’s individual and collective response to the experience of living and working in 2021.

A virtual show, with a virtual tour for all of us living in virtual isolation.”

The one visitor is the BBC’s Arts Editor, Will Gompertz, who, very kindly, opened the show.

My contribution, ‘It’s Got Pockets!’ is a self-portrait painted during lockdown. Rather than reflecting upon the miserable time we're all having at the moment, I instead wanted to create something bright and colourful, as an antidote to the doom and gloom. As I like to incorporate pattern into my work, I chose to paint myself in a vintage floral dress, in which the discovery of previously unseen pockets provided that curious moment of joy, which I know many women can relate to!

A virtual tour of the exhibition will be available to view at the end of this month.