Ceramicist Drew Caines has installed a new work in Redbox Gallery.
Titled ‘Mother of Hope’ the clay female figure stands 180cm high and contains text baked into the figure.
Drew says “Life is hard for everyone at the moment and we have all endured desperate times. So when the opportunity to make a commission for the Red Box Gallery came up, rather than reflecting on these dark days, I wanted to make something positive which might lift spirits. From talking with people and as the Winter and the second wave approached, I realised that what people need most is hope. So was born the Mother of Hope. Her body is made up of words … at her base are words like separation, grief and isolation and as you move up they become more positive until one word … hope … predominates. She is moving forward and from her body are bursting forth new shoots and leaves symbolic of change and the promise of better days ahead. On her breast is a butterfly, another symbol of change and rebirth. No matter how bad things are there is always hope for a better future. It is somehow fitting that she has taken up residence, locked down in the Red Box Gallery, just as we ourselves have entered a new national lockdown. If you are taking your daily exercise, why not take a moment to walk past the gallery and take on a little hope … if only for a moment.