Page 28 - Community Living Magazine 36-1

art

Wonderful creations well as an outstanding artist, and two of
Clayton is a talented young dancer as

her paintings, The Floating Dancers in
Blues and The Floating Dancers in Yellow
A glossy book bursts with beautiful art in many forms, then gives and Green capture beautifully the fluidity,
energy and passion of human beings
insight and analysis. Simon Jarrett is impressed by An Octopus when they dance.
with Boomerangs – and finds out about the unusual name Dance seems to be an inspiration for a
number of the artists. Dawn Wilson’s
striking drawings are inspired by black-
he ambitious Intoart studio now has and-white photos of street life and
a collection of more than 3,000 photographic studios in Bamoko in Mali,
Tworks, with the Victoria and Albert West Africa, and Kinshasa in Congo,
Museum and the Arts Council among those Central Africa.
that have bought artwork from the charity. Her depictions of the seething energy
Intoart, based in south London, offers a and excitement of dance venues, and her
full-time alternative art school programme ability to express the energy and
to people with learning disabilities. It joyfulness of young African fashionistas
includes studio practice, inclusive learning, showing off their spectacular attire, form
exhibition staging and publishing. a graceful series of compelling drawings.
Following the collective’s successful Christian Ovonlen is fascinated by dance
recent exhibition at the Copeland Gallery Riding a horse on stage by Christian Ovonlen; stage sets, particularly those of the Ballets
in Peckham, Intoart has published a top: Floating Dancers in Blues by Nancy Russes, a legendary early 20th century
superb book, An Octopus with Clayton; Dancing Under the Coconut Tree – Parisian dance company.
Boomerangs. Featuring the work of 17 of Bamako by Dawn Wilson Ovenlen describes the thinking that
its artists, it is beautifully designed and produces his gorgeously coloured, almost
lavishly produced in colour. educational activities, publishing and selling abstract representations of these sets,
As well as the many reproductions of from its studio – based on the centuries-old some of them on striking hand-painted
the artists’ work, the book features short tradition of the artists’ workroom – in a and printed silk.
sections of analysis, the voices of the converted car park in the inner city. “I close my eyes and imagine being at
artists about their own processes, Vasey describes the artworks as the theatre, in the audience scared of the
selections from the Intoart collection and boomerangs, thrown out into the world dark and then happy when the stage
solo exhibitions from four Intoart artists. with the hope that something comes lights shine. The dancers are dancing on
It is bursting with beautiful art in many back. And there you are – it’s an Octopus the stage, I am hearing classical music.
forms – drawings, paintings, ceramics, with Boomerangs, naturally. The dancers in my silks are like a melody.”
prints and textiles. Featuring work produced by the artists Some of the artists, such as Clifton
Like any art book, it doesn’t come cheap over the past 22 years, the book is a Wright, Mawuena Kattah and Ntiense
(although for the number and quality of celebration of Intoart’s history and of the Eno-Amooquaye, have held solo
reproductions it contains it is very fairly boomerangs thrown out from the octopus. exhibitions and sold work to major
priced at £30) so I would urge anyone The most striking features are the collections and are building national and
with a love of art to scrimp and save as versatility, variety, originality and sheer international reputations. For many of the
best they can to secure a copy. quality of the works. It seems almost others, it seems only a matter of time
Why the unusual title? Curator and writer unfair to select a particular artist’s work, before they embark on a similar journey
George Vasey, in his introduction to the such is the consistent breadth of creativity – their work is certainly good enough.
book, sees Intoart as an octopus, casting displayed, but a star of the show for me is While all the artists have learning
out its tentacles across museums, Nancy Clayton. disabilities, they talk about themselves as

28 Vol 36 No 1 | Autumn 2022 Community Living www.cl-initiatives.co.uk