A brave heart and courteous tongue

December 2020  

Virtual Exhibition - "A brave heart and courteous tongue...' an exhibition of my recent works is now live click here to view from the comfort of your home. 

I was fortunate enough to travel to some amazing places last year; Colombia, Brazil and Nicaragua.  I was awestruck by the incredible variety of plants in the rainforests, the shapes, the intricacy - so beautiful.  Whilst we were locked down and unable to travel, I reflected on this and decided to create my own jungle from my imagination. I was not trying to replicate what I had seen but use some of the shapes and my memories, not just of the plants but also the colours and my impressions of the countries. Using bold bright colours was so positive and I felt transported back to those places whilst I was creating the art works. 

The title of the exhibition "With brave heart and courteous tongue..."  is a quote from the Jungle Book and is  Kaa, the python, advice to Mowgli about how to travel through the jungle.  It feels like an appropriate title. It relates to the imaginary jungle I have created, but also, given the circumstances, it reflects my feelings about how we have lived in the last 6 months. Living in difficult, confined situations where being courageous, keeping going and being polite and sometimes holding our tongues has been important to navigate our times.