Thought-provoking exhibition at Apple Store Gallery (From Hereford Times)

Vivienne Sole exhibits solo at Apple Store Gallery, Brockhampton

1:34pm Thursday 10th September 2009 in Leisure

FOR h.Art 2009, the Apple Store Gallery in Brockhampton is hosting a solo exhibition, which runs until September 20.

The exhibition features the work of Vivienne Sole, a regular contributor at the gallery since it opened in 2005.

Born and brought up in Mid Wales, Vivienne began her working life as a primary school teacher and held her first post at Hereford Cathedral School in the late sixties. In 1976 she accompanied her family to Hong Kong where she quickly became involved in setting up an International British School where she was principal for 20 years.

Coming from a family of artists – parents, siblings, uncles and aunts and her daughter, all paint – it is perhaps surprising that Vivienne did not begin until she retired from Hong Kong, enrolling at Hereford College of Arts in 2000.

“I was encouraged to explore a wide range of media and techniques; paint, collage, print, 3D, photography – I enjoyed every minute. I particularly enjoyed investigating the possibilities of Book Art.”

At this time a close family member developed Alzheimer’s Disease and it was during this period, accompanying her as she journeyed in battle with failing memory, declining abilities and diminishing personality, that Vivienne found her art work provided an outlet for thoughts and emotions associated with the grief and loss of a loved one.

In order to interpret her ideas Vivienne began to research a wide range of non-traditional materials, textiles, scraps from clothing, wax, wool, soap and hair. She found the use of clothing and found objects, poignant starting points to convey meaning through her art.

‘Let’s Go Home’ - an early work made from an overstuffed handbag covered in paintings which illustrate many homes, none of which could be remembered – the homes forgotten, but the desire ‘to go home’ still remaining.

The current exhibition includes many pieces related to Alzheimer’s patients – some, like ‘And the Toast Comes Ready Buttered’, considers the patients, 16 small canvases illustrate the familiar nursing home ‘circle’, while others, such as Broken Wings, address the carer’s viewpoint. The subject matter is weighty but Vivienne’s hope is that the gentle manner in which it is handled will allow the viewer to establish an empathy.

The themes Vivienne chooses are important to us all. They relate to the cycle of life – love and loss, war and suffering, isolation and abuse of power, her concerns for Baby P, the drug dependent, the self harmer, the young soldier on foreign soil, the sick, the aged and those who wish to be given freedom to choose when to die – all are evident here.

‘I keep a lot of memorabilia: special clothes, photos, cuttings, a stone, a shoe, a wish bone, feather, even a badge trodden into Tiananmen Square – reminders of a certain time or place. I keep them in memory boxes. I enjoy reliving the memories. I also make memory books’ says Vivienne.

The exhibition has a lightness of touch. The atmosphere created in the gallery is calm, with many of the works appearing as quiet statements requiring the viewer to contemplate and reflect. But look out for the occasional burst of anger, too.

David Laws and Marion Campbell are very pleased to be hosting this unique exhibition, which will be open from 11 am to 4pm today and tomorrow, and every day from September 12 to September 20, 11am to 5pm.