The man with the haunting eyes

This haunting portrait is one of the paintings by the artist, educator and activist, David Tovey, that I saw in his exhibition in Salts Mill. (See also yesterday.) It's one of a series entitled 'Faces of the Abused', absolutely compelling studies that capture such pain and hardship.




I had a long, fascinating and ultimately very uplifting conversation with David, such a privilege to talk to the artist himself. Our conversation ranged over many things, from Sir Titus Salt's legacy to the current state of British politics, as well as homelessness and his own story.  He's an ex-serviceman himself and has battled with horrendous ill-health, that ultimately led to him becoming homeless and suicidal. You can read more of his story HERE; please do.

The painting above is in fact a self-portrait: 'Dark Days', of which he writes: 'Sometimes I wake up and the darkness is there to stay, sometimes for the day, other times for weeks. I feed my body and soul with medications every day just to stay alive. Sometimes it's a massive struggle even to move, from the pain and the strain my body has to go through. I have terminal illnesses that will never be cured. I live every day in constant pain, sometimes it's unbearable but I take my meds, put on a face and no-one then gets to see what I'm going through.'





The installation below is from 'Shelter Stories': a child's playhouse, with an eviction notice stuck across the door. It points out the fact that 'a shocking 128,000 children in Britain woke up homeless and in temporary accommodation over Christmas 2017'. That is one in every 110 children (and I think the situation is getting worse, not better.) How can we continue to ignore this?

The raw and authentic, newly opened gallery on Salts Mill's third floor seemed a fitting place for this powerful exhibition. Such a pity that it was only shown for one weekend but let's hope they invite David back - and continue to use the space for other such important and eye-opening work.