Feature: Exhibition - Inside Art at the National Gallery until May 1
Published: 10 February, 2011
by JOHN EVANS
Artists went to work with inmates at Feltham and a National Gallery exhibition is the result
I LEARNT to look at paintings in a different way and see that there is a lot going on and that a painting gives you a message.
This comment comes from one of the 15- to 21-year-old detainees in Feltham Young Offenders Institution, having been exposed to the works of Titian, Canaletto, Turner, Massys, Hobbema and others.
The young men’s own artworks have just gone on show at The National, the product of a second year of Inside Art, an innovative outreach programme.
Feltham has its own Art Academy offering courses aimed at encouraging rehabilitation and boosting communication skills and, ultimately, to reduce reoffending.
The programme is funded by Oxfordshire-based charity, the LankellyChase Foundation, and some of those taking part have been recognised for their work by The Koestler Trust, the prison arts charity, that also exhibits and sells work made by offenders.
Thirty young men, including north Londoners, took part and 48 of their works – paintings, prints, sculptures, drawings and collages – are on display until May.
Taking inspiration from a number of paintings in the National’s collection, freelance artists led four week-long projects at Feltham, exploring a range of themes, including space and perspective, light, sculptural methods and materials.
Artist Sarah Simblet explored drawing materials and techniques with her group, and how gesture and expression are used to tell stories and convey character.
A cast of a human skull was also used to explain the anatomy of head and neck.
Meindert Hobbema’s famous The Avenue at Middelharnis was used to study single-point perspective and the young men made copies of the painting in pencil and felt-tip pen.
Viyki Turnbull’s group looked closely at JMW Turner’s work and sketched out simple, but imaginative, landscapes as a result. Marc Woodhead’s group made multiple viewpoint drawings of the drama studio (see right) in Feltham on A5 sheets of paper and brought these together to build a picture of the whole performance space.
The National’s outreach officer Emma Rehm said: “Our aim is to make this national collection central to people’s lives by exploring ways of making it accessible and meaningful for those who cannot visit the gallery independently.
Using these paintings as a starting point for discussions and creative activities encourages Inside Art participants to enjoy learning and achieving, to build positive relationships and to improve their listening and communication skills, empathy and self-control.”