There are those who feel produding art is torture. Now, those who have suffered torture will be auctioning their work alongside art produced by the likes of Hockney.
Works by David Hockney, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Paula Rego, Cornelia Parker, Antony Gormley and Sir Peter Blake will be auctioned alongside pieces donated by artists who have survived torture at Freedom from Torture:The Art Auction tonight (Nov 13) at Studio Spaces in Pennington Street in Wapping.
Among the artists who has donated one of his works, called High Moon, is Said Hashumi. He said: “Painting in the Open Art Studio is always helpful – it is like a painkiller. I’m so proud and happy to put my work in the auction alongside the other artists.
“I came to this country from Afghanistan as a minor in 2002. I had never made art before and I first started painting when I joined the Open Art Studio at Freedom from Torture.
“When I paint pictures I can think about my experiences in Afghanistan, my journey to the UK and my experiences of being an asylum seeker; I can think differently.
“I have been in detention twice in the UK and survived a very traumatic journey here alone as a teenager. I lost family members and waited 10 years to get my refugee status. I am rebuilding my life and art continues to focus me and give me space to look forward.”
Many survivors of torture find it impossible to speak about the horrors they have experienced but are able to use art to bring painful memories to the surface so the healing process can begin.
Paul Mundundiu has donated his mixed media piece Modern Man to the auction. His work will go under the hammer with three other lots by members of Freedom from Torture’s Open Art Studio.
Paul said: “The Open Art Studio is a friendly place I can trust; it is like my family and makes me happy. It is a creative space where I can express myself and talk without fear about my experiences, things that I’m not comfortable to discuss outside. In the studio people listen and don’t judge, and we can learn from and help each other.
“Painting for me is a release; making is a way for me to find answers to some of the experiences I have, or the ideas and things I think about. Sharing my past with others who have similar experiences helps me to understand my traumas and we can support each other in surviving.”
Through their work Freedom from Torture’s Open Art Studio clients can express themselves and the complexity of their emotions such as anger, sadness, terror and fear as well as joy and hope.
Uvindu Kurukulsmiya, an award-winning journalist and freedom of expression activist currently in exile from Sri Lanka, has donated his painting Buddhist Monks to the auction. He has painted throughout his life and, since joining the Open Art Studio, paints regularly. He finds art-making to be a form of therapy which has helped him understand and express his emotions and his experience of violence in Sri Lanka’s brutal civil war.
He said: “Since I joined the Studio I’ve had a chance to meet people who were physically and mentally tortured from all around the world. It was a great experience. After all, the Open Art Studio is a soft place to fall.”
Works by high profile artists, including from the private collection at Alan Cristea Gallery, have also been donated.
The evening, at Studio Spaces in Wapping, will begin with drinks and canapés from 6pm and bidders and browsers will have the opportunity to view the works and a film about the work of Freedom from Torture before the auction, conducted by Christie’s International Director of Auctioneering Hugh Edmeades, gets underway at 7.30pm.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here