17 May 2007
A solo exhibition of works by Justine Cal, an artist supported by Thames Reach’s Vision Impossible? project, is now showing at the Novas Contemporary Urban Centre in central London.
The exhibition runs from Thursday, 17 May until Saturday, 16 June at London Bridge Bankside, 73-81 Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 ONQ. Doors are open 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, and admission is free.
Justine first began painting when she was suffering from depression and her housing situation was precarious. She found she could communicate through art, and has since developed a body of work which expresses her own life, daily encounters and political voice.
Since her first exhibition in 1994, Justine has exhibited in many cultural centres and galleries in Paris, where she lived for fifteen years. Her work explores the subjects of homelessness and mental health, and she has worked on social and community projects exploring these issues.
Justine’s striking use of colour is shown in huge canvases of abstract expressionism. She says: “Painting is a way of documenting the world around me from humour to colour via the darker realities that lie beneath the surface.”
Her artistic career has ranged from performing as a clown and fire-eater to working in Kenzo’s fabric-buying department, where she was inspired by the huge archive of fabrics from all over the world.
An experimental artist, Justine likes to explore different media, including found materials, photography, digital art, collage, textiles and ceramics.
Vision Impossible? provides emerging homeless or insecurely housed artists with a space to work, materials and support. The project encourages its participants to develop work that can be exhibited and sold, and artwork from the scheme has been shown at various venues across London.
The Novas Contemporary Urban Centre is part of novas arts, which is dedicated to exposing diverse audiences to the themes of homelessness and social exclusion. It does this by providing a creative forum for expression for people from marginalised and excluded communities.
