The Eye of the Beholder
Recently, Voluntary Action Coventry (VAC) made a call for art submissions from voluntary organisations across the city to represent the diverse work of the voluntary sector in Coventry. Having recently moved into new premises, VAC wanted to showcase the work in their building.
Kairos WWT of course rose to the challenge and service-users during one of our WINGS sessions created a beautiful piece of art, working together to challenge stereotypes and offer a truer portrait of themselves; vibrant, colourful and unique. The group wanted to challenge words often used to describe them such as ‘druggie, hooker, thief, cheap and dirty’ and celebrate more authentic descriptions like ‘determined, courageous, strong, intelligent, confident and sensitive’.
The Eye of the Beholder is a mixed media collage. Service-users worked with acrylic paints, stencils, ink sprays and rubber stamps to created individual and unique pieces of art. Art work was then cut into small tiles, along with tiles made from scrapbook paper and the group assembled the piece in a mosaic fashion taking turns to place their tiles and working together to ensure the whole piece came together.
The Eye of the Beholder challenges us to reconsider our perceptions of others and the language we use in everyday conversations. It challenges us to look beyond the immediate and see beauty where all too often, it is overlooked.
