A new exhibition from a renowned disabled artist will explore a mother’s personal journey of grief since the death of her son due to a drug overdose.
Alison Lapper’s powerful exhibition "Lost in Parys" will open at Worthing Museum later this month and promises a raw, unfiltered expression of her grief through paint and media.
Alison is a recipient of an MBE for her services to art and a leading member of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World (AMFPA).
She came to wider public attention with her collaboration with sculptor Marc Quinn, at a time when she was pregnant with her son Parys, which resulted in the statue Alison Lapper Pregnant.
This work sat atop the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square from 2005 to 2007.
She also appeared with Parys on the BBC docuseries Child Of Our Time from 2000.
Parys died at the age of 19 on August 23, 2019, from an accidental drug overdose.
“I'm Lost in Parys,” said Alison.
“It’s a loss that has rearranged my world, watching him fade away in front of my eyes because of the effects of addiction and mental health. It is a death that has changed how I see everything, a grief that has torn everything down and an unbearable pain that leaves me vulnerable, navigating my feelings through my work.”
A variety of paintings of her beloved son will be on show at the museum in her hometown of Worthing as well as a series of new photographs by British photographer Rankin and two works from Quinn.
A close friend of Alison since working together on the BBC Documentary No Body’s Perfect in 2016, Rankin has now captured Alison in a series of images that chart in stark reality the grieving process of a mother.
Quinn produced several sculptures of Alison and Parys and the exhibition will display one showing Alison pregnant created in 2000 and a later sculpture that included Parys after he had been born.
Differing from Alison’s new work, these sculptures will show the joy of motherhood, in what Alison called “her greatest achievement”. The exhibition will chart how one life can encapsulate both bliss and sorrow and how the perception of work can change depending on subsequent events that unfold.
The 59-year-old’s determination to ensure her son’s life and death was not in vain has also resulted in the creation of the charity The Drug of Art, which launched last year.
Alison decided to set up the charity with award–winning director Victoria Holden to reach as many people as possible. It seeks to demonstrate the power and importance of art as a tool for mental health and wellbeing and has already delivered workshops to over 400 young people and raised over £80,000. As part of the charity’s work, six individuals aged under 25 have also been chosen to exhibit work as a supporting element of the exhibition.
Alison: Lost in Parys will be at Worthing Museum from June 22 to September 29.
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