Over the next three months the Free Space Project will be working alongside a number of artists to create virtual exhibitions for all to explore. We’re sad that we are not able to open our exhibition space back up at present but are extremely grateful that we will able to bring you the space in a new and exciting way. Special thanks to the City Bridge Trust who have funded this project.

The three artists we will be working with are Hisba Brimah, Liliana Zaharia and Mahlia Amatina. We received an enormous amount of great proposals and wished we could have commission more artists. Here we are going to talk about the amazing work of the three selected artists and introduce you to their ideas.

Hisba Brimah

Hisba is passionate about abstract art, and is continually finding new ways to experiment with shapes and materials. Architecture, art history, textiles, and different cultures are among the most important themes in her art and these are continually referred to in her sketchbooks and outcomes. Her work includes geometric pieces based on combinations of triangles or of quadrilaterals, and pieces with fluid lines referencing Japanese woodblock prints. Recently she has created art which explores the dynamic, rhythmic application of paint to a surface, inspired by the work of Jackson Pollock. She has also drawn on the work of Bryce Marden to create paintings of curvilinear, string like structures, which, while abstract, are evocative of organic forms in the natural world.

We were drawn to the patterns that Hisba creates and are looking forward to seeing how they fit into our virtual gallery space.

Hisba’s exhibition ‘Mindful Transformations’ will be live from the 17th of August on the Free Space Project website. Hisba will also be delivering an artist talk and a workshop on the 25th and 27th of August so make sure you keep an eye out on social media for details on how to sign up.

Liliana Zaharia

The next artist we will be working with to take her exhibition virtual is Liliana Zaharia. Liliana will be sharing her work ‘On a scale from 1 to 10’. The work explores the representation of physical pain through a series of photographs, videos and interviews informed by personal experience.

Artist Liliana Zaharia is working in collaboration with Psychotherapist Irina Petreanu to draw on the experience of pain in order to explore a variety of means of expression. Through a lack of narrative, the body of work proposes a more perceptual approach to pain, closer to a poetic form of expression rather than a documentary style approach. She will also be working with sound artist Razvan Hogea.

We were drawn to Liliana’s work as we know so many of our patients are familiar with these questions and the exploration of living with chronic pain is such an important topic to raise awareness of. As well as the interesting subject matter we also loved finding the beauty in the aesthetics of her work.

Liliana’s exhibition ‘On a scale from 1 to 10’ will be live from the 14th of September on the Free Space Project website. Liliana will also be delivering an artist talk and a workshop on the 22nd and 24th September so make sure you keep an eye out on social media for details on how to sign up.

Mahlia Amatina

Last but certainly not least we will be working with artist Mahlia Amatina. Inspired by her arts-led advocacy work on neurodiversity, ‘Life on a Spectrum’ is an interactive art exhibition that uses visual art, writing, videography to engage viewers on a level that works for them.

The work builds on previous autism-related exhibitions ‘On a Spectrum – an exploration of Asperger’s syndrome’ and ‘Around the World in 80 Washing Lines’, as well as an arts-based project on ‘Women and Autism’created in New York City.

The aim is to capture the imagination of people from all backgrounds to learn about, and celebrate, neurodiversity.

Mahlia’s exhibition ‘Life on a Spectrum’ will be live from the 12th of October on the Free Space Project website. Mahlia will also be delivering an artist talk and a workshop on the 20th and 22nd October so make sure you keep an eye out on social media for details on how to sign up.