OUR FATHER.....
This was an artwork I made to commemorate my father, Henryk Karpinski, who died when I was 10 years old. He was born in the ancient walled city of Torun, in the north of Poland, the home of Copernicus; I found a picture of the tower in the city wall whilst sorting through boxes of photographs of the tower in the wall, shown 3rd up from bottom left.
I wanted to touch on the main elements and highlights of his life: as a young boy, then as a young man with his peers; his being in England, at Trafalgar Square with a pigeon on his extended hand; his wedding day; the christenings of his 3 children; enjoying his young sons; and his place of work, the Savoy Hotel. He loved photography, and making cine films, which I commemorated in a poem: 'Goodbye', that was published by MacMillan in The Works 4 - Every kind of poem on every topic you will ever need for the Literacy Hour, 2005. I had been asked to submit some 'poems for children' for consideration. It made me think - I hadn't intentionally written any with that audience in mind, but I looked through my work and read them in that light. Still unsure, I sent off about 3 or 4. I was surprised when I learned that the poem addressing my father's unexpected death was chosen. But, appreciated it may have been selected precisely because no child can be prepared for such a momentous event, so anything that touches on that subject is all the more valuable.
The title of Red Hen's Group Exhibition came of out having the stairwell of a local community centre as our exhibition space - each expressing whatever 'Heaven' or Heavenly might mean in terms of art.
Image-transfers applied to a roller-blind, made the work portable; appearing at another exhibition: the House of Dreams, that I organized at Rottingdean's Grange Gallery. I wanted the space to look as though visitors had stumbled into an artist's studio apartment, including a child's bed and toys in one corner, and a small indoor garden section at the other. The concept allowed for a broad range of arts & crafts that aren't normally seen in a gallery setting: beautiful hand-painted pillow-slips & lampshade ( Karen See), curtains (Diana Ward-Davies); knitted patchwork blanket & dream-catcher (mine); mosaics and fused glass pieces by local artists I'd chanced upon and wanted to include. A big inclusive group - and each unique. One visitor returned to bring me a quote they'd found about the value of handmade items that are imbued with love in the making.
I really hadn't had my father for long enough, and in the time he was alive, didn't get to see him regularly as he worked in London, while we had a bed & breakfast in Hove. When we did see him, it was always an adventure - trips to castles, and free entry to Butlins at Bognor Regis, as he had served Billy Butlin at the Savoy and was invited to come as a guest. Cherished memories. What I like is that he was an impetus for artwork that appeared in several exhibitions (including Greenbelt Christian Arts Festival, Shed Gallery) - as though giving me a helping hand to establish myself as an artist, as any proud father would. 
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