Coveting Africa
The European Desire; people, land, wealth
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Pawns: Contemporary Artists' look at
Post-Abolition Slavery
Art Installation
in the Bishop's Stortford Museum's Africa galleries
September 2007 to December 2008
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"The exhibition goes back to an idea by the four artists (Lotte, Sue, John and Liz) to devise a show at the Rhodes Museum with the intention of picking up various themes and mixing the exhibits amongst the museum displays. The timing was extraordinary, as the Rhodes Museum had plans in the pipeline to discuss the impact of the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade.
So the title of the exhibition (Pawns: contemporary artists' look at post abolition slavery) was born and the four artists asked human rights expert (Mike) to come on board, who could supply the necessary background.
It was the groups' intention to deal with the theme in their own particular and to blend their work in with the museum' s exhibits, highlighting them mainly through the choice of labels (white on black). The result is a thought provoking juxtaposition of Rhodes' life and the colanial legacy in general and the impact of slavery on the world of today in particular." |
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Mike Dottridge "Pawns, Dates and Brazilian Nuts" - Powerpoint presentation extract |
Mike Dottridge was born in the United Kingdom in 1953 and is a consultant on human rights issues, based in Royston (Herts). He worked for 17 years at the international headquaters of Amnesty International in London, capaigning against human rights violations in sub-Saharan Africa. From 1996-2002 he was director of a London-based charity, Anti-Slavery International (previously known as the Anti-Slavery Society). For the past five years he has worked as an independant consultant for non-governmental organisations on human rights questions. He focuses particularly on issues such as child labour, human trafficking and slavary in the contemporary world, and has written several books about children who are taken from one country to another to be exploited. |
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 ike Dottridge "Pawns, Dates and Brazilian Nuts" - Powerpoint pretatin extract
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"Eating" By Liz Boast "Grasping" Alabaster 2007
By John Farnham |
Liz Boast Personal profile: My art is figurative and focuses on various aspects of the feminine. Recent travels abroad have influenced me and introduced new references which continue to develop my work. Since graduating as a mature student in 1997 I have set up a print-making studio at Parndon Mill, with facilities for both relief and intaglio printing. I also work in welded steel and paint. I have shown my work in exhibitions locally, in London and abroad.
Education: University of Hertfordshire 1997 BA (Hons) Fine Art recent exhibitions: 2007 Boxfield Gallery, Stevenage; 2006 Old Town Hall, Hemel Hempsted; 2006 "Un veiled" Thorleybourne Gallery Bishop's Stortford. |
John Farnham trained and worked with Henry Moore as his assistant from 1965 until his death in 1986. He creates sculptures in stone, bronze and steel. One of the recurring themes is the human body, depicted in various abstract forms. He has had one-man shows at the Camden Arts Centre, New Art Centre, The Royal Institute of British Architects, the UH Gallery in Hatfield as well as in Austria, to mention just a few. He has also participated in many exhibitions in England and abroad (Denmark, Switzerland). Some of his major commissions include the department of Environment for RAF Naphill, the Institue of Biology, London, the Carborundum Company of Niagara Falls, Bishop's Stortford College as well as a Millenium sign for the village of Braughing (in colaboration with his wife Lotte Farnham). He lives and works in Hertfordshire. |
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"No way out" No.1 "Question, Reveal, Break Chain"
Acrylic and Ink on Canvas Mixed media
By Lotte Farnham By Susan Sanders
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Lotte Farnham graduated in Fine Art from the University of Hertfordshire in 2002 in painting, printmaking and photography. Most of her work is an exploration of human relationships. She has taken part in many mixed exhibitions as well as in solo shows in the UK and un Austria. Her commisions include works for the Garden Nursing Home in Sawbridgeworth, two GP surgeries in London, GlaxoSmithKline as well as the millenium sign for the village called Braughing (in collaboration with her husband John Farnham). She lives and works in Hertfordshire. |
| Susan Sanders BA Hons., University of Hertfordshire 2002. Susan regulary exhibits with Hertfordshire Open Studios, takes commisions, and also exhibits in commercial galleries and public spaces. Much of her work engages with the significance of ownerships and territory but with this installation, the pawn is used to signify the situation of those who have no control over their destiny. |
Bishop's Stortford Museum
South Road
Bishop's Stortford
Hertfordshire
CM23 3JG
Tel: 01279 651746
museum@rhodesbishopsstortford.org.uk |
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