6.00pm-7.30pm, 7th December, The Hypatia Trust, Chapel Street

Join us for a talk with Just 5 about their The Lock Down Project.

In December 2019 five artists planned to embark on a year-long shared Artists Book project to start in February of the following year. Little did we realise then that we were running headlong into a pandemic that would change our lives and the way we lived and communicated drastically.

Each artist created a book or books and chose a different and personal theme for the contents; both the books and subjects differed wildly in form and intention. Every 6 to 8 weeks we would complete our contribution in whatever way we wished whilst keeping to the originator’s choice of subject and pass the book on to the next artist in sequence. This we did for a year. Our subjects were:

Jenny Annely - Iron

Sara Bevan - Floral Temples

Susan Denton - Window

Pat Furley - Collections

Irene Lees - Invisibility

This project occupied many lockdown hours in our strange new world and became a comfort and connection. Along the way we devised different strategies to exchange our work while remaining within the law! The first year ended with us lurching in and out of various lockdowns so we made the decision to continue the project for a second year and hold on to our enjoyment and comfort………

In July 2023 we exhibited the books, along with wall pieces in our individual styles and media, at the Morvah Schoolhouse Gallery and were astounded at the response that the books received. A project devised for our own pleasure and to stretch ourselves seemed to mean something to complete strangers; some people returned for second, third and even fourth visits to examine the images and read the contents.

The books from the project will also be on show in our bookshop from December 7th to January 11th