The Bromley by Bow Centre is one of East London’s great success stories, it has over the last 30 years built a significant reputation for its dynamic model of community regeneration. As well as providing a wide range of services to the local community, the centre has been a base for a number of artists who have individually and collectively developed their art practices in a community setting following the example of one of the centre’s early pioneers, Chilean sculptor Santiago Bell.
Known collectively as the Flyover Artists, they are based at, or have worked closely with this unique charity for the 30 years and to mark the occasion the artists have curated a special 30th anniversary exhibition of their work.
The exhibition is spread throughout the buildings of the Centre displaying works that follow the traditional craftsmanship approaches to object making. With two painters, a sculptor, 2 stain-glass artists and a ceramicist, the show reveals how the different media reflect a common thread that draws the works together.
The Flyover Artists are: Frank Creber (painter), Margy Creber (painter), Paula Haughney (sculptor), Paul Shaw (stain-glass artist), Sheenagh McKinlay (stain-glass artist) and Murude Mehmet (Ceramicist)
Frank Creber – Lloyds Register Looking South
Regular readers will know that I regularly feature Frank’s work most recently at a Lloyds Register exhibition and a large show at ExCel. In 2004, Frank Creber was appointed the artist in residence for Water City and for last decade he has provided a chronicle of drawings and paintings, capturing the ever changing East London landscape. Frank is also known for his collaborative programmes working with many hundreds of children, professional artists, students, musician’s and local people.
Margy Creber – lilies with a red background
Margy Creber has developed her painting in tandem with managing a Children’s Centre in Tower Hamlets. Her painting is inspired by observing familiar objects in the studio environment and in the discipline of observing ‘still life’ objects such as chairs and flowers.
Mürüde Mehmet Snail
Mürüde Mehmet is a resident artist at Bromley by Bow Centre and runs a pottery studio. MüJo Ceramics was established in 2005 with John Crabb. Both run a number of ceramic workshops and tutorials, both for members of the community and private clients. The work focuses on producing original pieces made from high-fired earthenware and stoneware which include Mürüde’s signature Mü and John’s drawn crab. The bowls and pots are inspired by organic, flowing shapes based on nature.
Paul Shaw – Castle
Paul Shaw spent most of his working career as a Civil Servant in central London. In 2002 he was seconded to the Bromley-by-Bow Centre to help with the development of social enterprises. While at the Centre he learnt the traditional craft of stained glass and in 2008 left the Civil Service and set up in his own right as a designer and maker of glass. Paul Shaw designs and makes stained glass for commission and also studio pieces for exhibition and sale. Two strands of his recent work are represented here in the show. Firstly a group of abstracted images created by collage and using heavily textured and often re-used glass . And secondly, work which explores themes contained in the early twentieth century movements of cubism, constructivism and art deco.
Paula Haughney. Mother and Child
Paula Haughney is a sculptor living and working in the East End of London for thirty years and first learnt stone carving at a Bromley by Bow centre evening class.
She uses the direct method of carving with stone that has often been recycled from redundant or demolished public building .
The scope and scale of her work ranges from Natures Throne in granite at the Middlesex Filter beds to her recent Fragile Earth series in translucent alabaster.
Paula has completed many public sculptures and has pieces in both private and public collections in Britain, Europe and America.”
Sheenagh McKinlay – Battle
Sheenagh McKinlay’s works on show are composite collages, made up of salvaged stained glass fragments, contemporary glass and magic lantern slides.
She collects slides of war, fabulous high coloured images of the glory of war and photographic images of WW1. As she began to collect the slides she found battlefield scenes of the dead and dying from the Sino Russian conflict to the war in the Transvaal and was fascinated by the romanticism in contrast to intense poignancy of the WW1 photographs.
In one of the rooms is an exhibition of small works including a number of works by other artists who have used the centre over the past 30 years and have developed their skills and gone on to considerable success.
If you visit the exhibition and work through the centre it illustrates that even potential stressful areas like a doctor’s waiting room can be transformed by plants, space and works of art. Even when the exhibition is finished there is lots of artwork in the centre and is an integral part of it. This plays no small part of the success of the centre it pays attention to the small details that make a big difference.
The Exhibition will run from 7th November 2014 – 23rd January 2015 but there are some special events.
Friday 14th November,
There will be Open Studios, exhibition private view and market
5.30 pm to 10 pm
Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th November
There will be Open Studios, exhibition and market
12 noon to 6pm
If you looking for a Christmas gift with a difference, many of the works of art will be available to purchase.
If you would like to find out more about the artists, visit the Bromley by Bow website here
Isle of Dogs Life 