A group review of the current exhibition ‘King Amongst the Flowers: A Visual Journey’ by Mikey at the Level Best Art Gallery.
Written by Angus W, Laura T, Ryan K, Simon W, Anthony B, Volunteer helper Jan, and OT Student Dominque, with assistance from staff members Beth & Megan.
Mikey is a volunteer helper with us at Level Best. He has made these pictures using the lino printing technique that we are trying out in our art studio upstairs at the moment. They probably took a while. If they were smaller, they would have been quicker to make, but they wouldn’t look as important.
There are big black pictures in black frames. The lighting is natural like a fireplace and its very calming.
It’s all mythical, but it is hard to figure out at first. We think it is inspired by spiritual stuff, and releasing things. Most of the pieces look happy, but a couple of them look like they have been crying.
Anthony thinks ‘Come Little Brother’ is peaceful and joyful, but ‘Patience & Time’ looks sad and lonely. Angus says ‘They remind me of statues, I like the colours of the lights, they make me feel good’
Laura says that the exhibition is ‘Excellent’
Ryan says ‘That one is a good one that one. I want to learn how to do it. They make me feel calm. I like that light there – What’s that doing there? It makes it feel warm in here’
Simon and Ryan discussed the images:
S ‘They look like faces’
K ‘I find them scary faces’
S ‘NO FRIENDLY!’
Anthony’s favourite is ‘King’ ‘He looks important – it could be a picture of the artist. Perhaps he is the king of the people in the other pictures – they are the immortals’ The pictures remind Anthony of the film ‘Labyrinth’. ‘Maybe the King is David Bowie and the other pictures are of the goblins’
We practised mindfulness in the space, performing a full body scan, and listening to a calming singing bowl. We sat in a circle either on the floor of the gallery or on chairs, with blankets and cushions. It was very relaxing and some of us fell asleep.
Angus said he is grateful, for the artwork in the gallery, for all the places he has visited in the world, and for all the beautiful paintings he has seen.
We responded to the exhibition space using coloured pencils on paper. We drew rings, and trees and the swirly shapes within the pictures around us. We drew circles because of the singing bowl going around. We drew the sky, because the calming sound reminds us of a big sky.
We give the exhibition the following marks out of 10:
Ryan 5/10
Simon 5/10
Dominique 8/10
Megan 8/10
Beth 9/10
Anthony 9/10
Jan 10/10
Angus 10/10
Laura 100/10!
‘King Amongst the Flowers: A Visual Journey’ by Mikey at Level Best Art Gallery is showing at Level Best Art Gallery until 27th February.
