EXHIBITION DATES: 7 February – 6 April 2025
OFFICIAL OPENING: Friday 7 February, 6pm
Details
unconditional is a mixed-media examination of loves many forms… joyful, painful, life-affirming, difficult at times, but invariably unconditional. The images explore different nuances of love exploring how – whilst love can bring joy and happiness – it has a deeper, more self-reflective and pensive side: a truly complex emotion. The diversity of exhibition works reflect the multi-faceted qualities of love, in terms of media used as well as subjects – images will use photography, painting, charcoal, digital media, pencil sketching, ink on wood, and 3D installation.
These will show various expressions of love: arguing that we are all different yet united by emotions. Examples include partners (wherever they are on the rainbow), parents and children, an indigenous person for Country, a nurse and patient, an owner for their dog, bittersweet memories of friendships lost etc. The Exhibition seeks to refamiliarize love, reclaiming its depictions in modern media. Too often love is portrayed as sentimental, unrealistically romantic (though there is always room for romance!) or focused on tragedy and heartbreak, to highlight admittedly important social issues.
Love is becoming stifled by current trends equating love with over-dependence or inequality in a society that increasingly promotes independence. Even talk of love can elicit embarrassment and awkwardness. We are losing our awareness of its value and power, and an underlying theme of the Exhibition examines the resulting positives and pitfalls of opening up personal and intimate emotions to public scrutiny. The exhibtion is a statement about the importance of allowing room for genuine feelings of love in an increasingly isolated society that interacts through social media, texts and Instagram. Love is fundamental in making us human, and we need to preserve it whilst embracing new technologies, cultural and identity politics.
Sharing the Love Workshop series
unconditional promotes the philosophy of ‘Arts for All’, and the hands-on promotion of art’s benefits for those from all walks of life; acting as a catalyst to inspire the AUDIENCE to become PARTICIPANTS in the arts community through two-way dialogue. There will be two key opportunities for attendees to actively engage with the artist and the Exhibition, as well as their wider community, using art as a communication tool. To this end, John invites you to join in an interactive discussion on the positives and perils of making the personal – in this case love – public through art.
Click here to book for the workshops
Who do you love?
John Brookes sees the role of the viewer equal to his own, in giving meaning to the works in the exhibition. Works and motifs may be seen as positive to some, and cause negative reactions to others. Some may feel the works fail to depict their own unique concept of love. John wholeheartedly invites the community to submit works on what love means to them, feeling free to express themselves in terms of interpretation, experience and media. This could be painting, ink on wood, pencil, photography, poetry, short prose, digital media, sculpture – the choice is open. Pretty much anything except for AI generated art and works that are not original may be submitted.
Submissions can be made via the Who Do YOU Love website or in the submissions box at the Gallery. All submissions will be featured on the online Gallery, and on a dedicated AV scrolling screen on a wall at the Venue.
About the artist
John has over 30 years in arts marketing in the public, government, commercial and disability charity sectors across the UK, Fiji and Australia. He has worked for the London Police Volunteer Scheme, Royal National Institute of the Blind, Fiji Paralympic Team and Victim Support among others; and has organised events at the Tate Modern and London’s Royal Festival Hall. He was awarded the a Police Commendation and the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022, for his public service work.
As well as exhibiting locally since emigrating 14 years ago, he previously worked for two years with the Spinal Injuries Association of Fiji following Hurricane Winston, documenting relief efforts, and promoting disability arts as a form of healing after the disaster. He is a previous recipient of the of the ACT Chief Minister’s Inclusion Award for Excellence in Volunteer Support and nominee for the Lifetime Achievement Award.
John is now an Australian citizen living in Canberra and is active in the local arts sector, using a range of media from pencil drawing, poetry and ceramics, to photography and digital art.
Much of his work explores the gap between what we assume or believe truth to be and what truth is. “Pictures of You”, for instance took a series of disabled people who worked actively with the artist to produce a self-portrait and narrative that they felt truly represented themselves as people. Two other recent shows were “Dark Snow” highlighting the disparity between the pureness of the local snowy mountains with the environmental impacts of tourism and settlement there, and high-profile exhibition entitled “DISCRIMINATE”, a satirical take on media portrayal of disability using the style of 1940s Propaganda posters. This gained local, national and overseas media coverage.
John strongly believes in giving a voice to the individual, to people telling their own stories in unique and thought-provoking ways and becoming true collaborators in the exhibition. This is a strong theme in unconditional, the subject matter of love being a highly personal and uniquely individual emotion.