Sebastian Horsley crucifixion paintings star in mental health charity exhibition
21 September, 2011
by: Spoonfed Arts Team
Two Sebastian Horsley paintings star in an exhibition dedicated to raising money for Mind's new creative therapies fund.
Fifteen months after his tragic death of a drugs overdose, two paintings by artist, writer and famed Soho dandy Sebastian Horsley have gone on show as part of an exhibition designed to raise awareness of issues around mental health. The paintings – on display this September in the atmospheric Old Vic Tunnels under Waterloo station – centre on Horsley's notorious self-crucifixion in the Philippines back in 2000, and it's the first time they've been exhibited in London since 2002, when they were shown, aptly, on Crucifix Lane.
Horsley has often been dismissed, including on Spoonfed, as a below-average artist, but these two works – displayed alongside Sarah Lucas' painfully uncomfortable documentary film of the crucifixion – suggest that there was more to his art than meets the eye. The surfaces writhe with a kind of latent energy, an abyss of whirling dark nothing. As intended, Horlsey's own experiences did succeed in bring something new to an ancient subject matter.
Horsley's paintings and the accompanying film are on show as part of Mindful, an exhibition and series of events put together by contemporary artist, curator and Mind ambassador Stuart Semple in order to launch Mind's new creative therapies fund. Stuart himself has suffered from severe anxiety and eating disorders following a near-death experience at the age of 19. He credits his art with helping him get through the experience, and hopes the fund will enable others to benefit from the expressive benefits of the arts.
The exhibition features work by a host of other artists, including Tracey Emin, the Chapman Brothers and Mat Collishaw. Look out in particular for a stunning new installation by Tessa Farmer; Tom Wilkinson's beguiling LED contraption; Keira Rathbone's live typewriter art; and Stuart's own work – False and Inflatable Feeling – the drama and intensity of which is only enhanced by the crumbling bricks of the Old Vic Tunnels.
Mindful also marks the change-over in Mind's president, from Melvyn Bragg to Stephen Fry, who, by coincidence, spoke so movingly at Sebastian's funeral back in 2010.
Mindful is at the Old Vic Tunnels from 22nd to 27th September 2011.
Read Tom's interview with Sebastian Horsley, May 2010.
Read Tom's interview with Stuart Semple, September 2011.
Image credits: Dennis Morris, Sebastian Horsley
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