Art / News
Turning grief into art
“We don’t get enough chances day to day to speak about and be involved with our grief,” said Isis Blake, who lost her mum to breast cancer when she was 11 years old.
“It doesn’t take much to do that, but when we can, it’s a blessing.”
Isis was speaking to Bristol24/7 at a one-day exhibition on Saturday aiming to “unite people in love and loss” by showcasing a range of creative responses to grief.
It Feels Like This displayed artworks by people who channelled their responses to bereavement into pieces including embroidery, painting, photography and drawing.
Creator director Isis said she was inspired to curate the free exhibition to send a message that when we create more space for grief, we ultimately make more room for the love that remains.
The event was partnered with Good Grief Festival founded by University of Bristol researcher Lucy Selman whose work has supported thousands of people through serious illness and bereavement.
Isis Blake hoped the small exhibition would invite people to “slow down and make space for grief”
Speaking about what feeling she wanted to evoke in visitors to the event at UNIT8 Studios in St Werburgh’s, Isis said: “I hope everybody is going to walk in today and think about somebody that they’ve lost or somebody that they know who lost someone.
“Even though today is a four-hour exhibition, it’s actually something that we should always have in us.”
“Grief doesn’t always have to be a horrible conversation. In fact, 99 per cent of grievers wish that more people asked them about their loss.”
“The feelings we encounter are a reminder of the love we shared with someone,” writes artist Jasmine Potter
How has her perspective on grief evolved from childhood to the creation of this exhibition?
“The biggest thing I have learnt about grief is that your relationship with the diseased person doesn’t just disappear,” said the 22-year-old.
“It actually changes, and you make it what you want it to be. I’m in a fortunate position where I’ve had a very long time since my mum passed away.
“Now I’m able to have creative indulgences, but grief is so different for everybody and some people aren’t able to do that.
“Grief isn’t something we need to shy away from: it’s something that we should all have more room for.”
Emily Cooper created these embroidery artworks after she lost “the love of her life” after he tragically slipped and fell in the harbour in 2023
Stephanie Kelly, whose mother passed away one month before she went to university, has documented her “coming of age” while also grieving
This is the shawl that Roxane Davey knitted while her mum, Pauline Mummery, was dying in hospital with cancer
“There’s something special about being surrounded by elaborate headstones from decades and centuries gone by,” writes Jayde Perkins, who found solace from grief on visits to Greenback Cemetery
All photos: Betty Woolerton
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