The Expedition
As an artist-curator of Hexham General Hospital, I have been concerned with the question of how to create art and exhibitions to enhance the healing process in a healthcare environment. To look for the answers, I have set up a series of “Healing Through Curatorial Dialogue” workshops to invite patients, members of staff and the local community to start an unusual expedition. This exhibition consists of the combined efforts of various artists who shared their visions on the course. On this journey, Ashley Hipkin sees unwanted stuff differently. He can always re-invent and re-present them to us as new pieces of artwork with new meanings. Ballast is a body of sculpture by Ashley created in response to the question of healing during his residency in the hospital. For Cathy Duncan, it is the atmosphere of social occasions in the Tynedale community that she skillfully captures into sketches and then paintings. In this exhibition, her sketches tellingly record the historic transition of Hexham General Hospital, while her paintings spread the joy of music and dancing. Interested in exploring the idea of representing journeys, Penny Grennan aims to capture the sense of movement from one place to another in an enigmatic way thereby prompting a story or question in the viewer. As a Chinese artist living in England, Yang Yang always asks herself, “Who am I ?” and “Where do I belong?” These are the most fundamental questions that make each of us unique. Yang discovers her identity with her brush strokes, use of colours and the composition of space. I would like to specially thank Cathy, Penny and Yang for lending their artworks to this exhibition. Poyan Yee Artist-curator August 2008