John Exell
Self Portrait by John Exell
In the late nineties, John Exell, alongside a group of artists and writers, who go to the Crayford Mental Health Day Centre, set up Centrepieces, a user-led art group.
Their first big collaborative piece was a totem pole made out of breeze block. Breeze block is a cheap and pliable material - and John had made something of a hobby of using it for sculpture. So his technique became a bit of an inspiration for the rest of the group.
Like many user-led resources Centrepieces gets by on a lot of good will and minimum resources. It exists to promote the artwork of mental health service users and positive images of mental health throughout the arts. The work the group produces has gone from strength to strength - as was demonstrated at a recent Living Newsletter event put together by Dada-South.
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bosstoff@hotmail.com said on 2008-01-03 00:44:
I have not long started an art group for people with mental health issues and would welcome any advice you may wish to pass on to the group... bosstoff
last updated: 2006-03-01 00:00:00
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tags : survivor arts interview_profile gallery visual arts sculpture