Our latest project, titled 'Reactive Reaction' is about observing an area/place, time or subject that has created a reaction. It could be how I, or someone else, reacts with or within a space or environment that surrounds me or someone else at any chosen time.
It would have been all too easy to pick something from the past which has created a reaction, such as the World Wars and the Holocaust. I could probably have produced some nice work from these themes but I didn't feel I knew enough about them, and I haven't lived through these events to react to them- all I'd be reacting to would be someone else's memories or opinions. Nor did I particularly want to go with the obvious -the recent rise in tuition fees at universities or the recession, even though these have affected me it isn't something I've actively protested against or know an awful lot about. I wanted to pick something that has an affect on my day to day life, something closer to home.
For a while I've felt I needed to address my feelings about my Grandfather's alzheimers, not just talking about it but expressing my feelings through drawing or painting. This seems like the perfect opportunity. Not only is his condition is something that my whole family is having to react to day in day out, but it's also something my Grandfather has to react to. It's had a huge impact on my life- seeing a man who I've looked up to from a very early age suffer from his memory deteriorating- and it hasn't been easy.
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