Bertrand Russell … and accessibility

Camden is rethinking our local statues.We were asked to think about some of the statues – and also think what we would truly like to commemorate.I couldnt go to the first session as the venue is not accessible.So that’s my first idea: get accessible! Lets make venues accessible – and then commemorate accessibility! We focussed on …

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Online audio description and discussion during a pandemic

I’ve been really enjoying The Photographers Gallery (TPG) Slow Looking online audio description and discussion sessions! It’s such fun looking closely and deeply at great photographs – created and curated by experts. Then I was asked to comment on the process, alongside Caroline Dawson, an expert Audio Describer, and Janice McLaren, Head of Education & …

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(Un)forgotten flora

small flowering lemon tree

Francis Annagu — project creator, documentary photographer and creative writer (based in Nigeria) invited participants to take part in creating a new work for online exhibition (on Co-iki’s website) under the “Creativity from HOME” experimental residency curated by Co-iki. I’m included with my thoughts on lemons and oaks:https://carolinemawer.com/lemons-oaks-and-the-wood-wide-web/https://carolinemawer.com/lemon-trees-citrus-limon-and-limu-shirin/https://carolinemawer.com/quercus-brantii-the-west-asian-oak/I wrote of how Living in a big …

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Life, Interrupted: 14 Sept-14 Oct

grid of thumbnails of submissions from artist in group exhibition

I got a very generous share of the time at the opening event of this digital group exhibition at the Socially Engaged Art Salon, Brighton. Theres more from all the other artists here: https://www.seasbrighton.org/life-interrupted-gallery And more on my own submission here: https://www.seasbrighton.org/post/life-interrupted-caroline-mawer

Hunger hiding in ‘The Haywain’

Constable’s Haywain is a famously popular painting.   It’s a chocolate-box idyll of rural English life Isn’t it? In some important ways, Constable was a true radical. His ‘ rough‘ painting techniques have been described as an important precursor to Impressionism. And he transformed landscape painting. Moving it away from classical Italy towards the English countryside   But his …

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Making things with William

Will as the classiest blacksmith you've ever seen

William Hutt was a master craftsman and a creative whirlwind. Armourer for the Wallace Collection and the Royal Armouries. Leather worker extraordinaire. The earliest adopter of Photoshop I knew Will taught me the rudiments of how to sculpt metal by hitting it very skilfully.He improved my chain-mail making-technique. And he helped me make my first knife. Look … …

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Lemon and lime trees: Citrus limon

(Un)forgotten flora is goign to be an online exhibition curated by Francis Annagu in a “Creativity from HOME” experimental residency curated by Co-iki. We were asked for ‘strange flowers’ we wanted to focus on I chose the lemon: Citrus limon and the Persian oak Aas part of my installation Safe as Houses, I made a …

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Deep sea diving … in a wheelchair

Sue Austin scuba diving in her electric wheelchair. Image: Guardian

Sue Austin goes deep sea diving … in her wheelchair. She explains in a TED talk how she experienced the very negative stereotypes linked to wheelchairs, and thought how it might be to juxtapose these with the excitement of scuba-diving. Her NHS electric wheelchair now gives her the “freedom to move in 360 degrees of …

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And suddenly I disappear

And Suddenly I Disappear. Some of the cast. Image: Guardian

When I saw And Suddenly I Disappear,  it felt that, suddenly, there was actually a chance that I might personally appear. Not definitely. I still don’t know where. But at least now there’s a chance. For maybe a chance appearance. Thankyou thankyou THANKYOU for that to Kaite O Reilly and the whole splendid ensemble! Kaite explores …

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Shakespeare Incarnate

Tom Shakespeare by Lucy Jones. https://farmerofthoughts.co.uk/

Incarnate is a triptych: a conversation between Tom Shakespeare and some of the great works from the Renaissance to the modern era. It focuses on the theme of human embodiment. Incarnate is Shakespeare’s largest art work. It was inspired by the Gothic Nightmares exhibition at Tate Britain. Here it is in (a poor copy – but …

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