The Conviction That Art Is Necessary

William Sewell, co-founder of Radley College and namesake of the Sewell Centre Gallery, held the conviction that art is essential for the development of the civilised individual and nation. As part of the College’s 175th Anniversary celebrations, the Art Department held an exhibition of Old Radleian and Radley staff artwork in the Sewell Centre Gallery. 16 Old Radleians submitted pieces for this fantastic show, alongside members of current and former Radley staff.

The Tempest: Ariel, Kieran Madden (1999, F) Watching for those late kitchen blues, James Nairne (1973, F) THANK YOU TO THE FOLLOWING ORs WHO HAD ARTWORK ON DISPLAY:

Hugh Dumas (1956, A) Lucas Ely (2014, E) Peter Hawkins (1993, H) John Antony Heath (1950, E) Guy Henderson (1997, D) James Henderson (1995, D) Nigel Henderson (1964, B) James Huntley (1983, B) Phil Lambert (1993, E) Jasper Leadbeater (2010, F) Sheppard Li (2014, K) Hamish Mackie (1987, F) Kieran Madden (1999, F) James Nairne (1973, F) Toby King-Thompson (2009, B) Sven Winkler von Stiernhielm (2012, H) Thanks also to dons Ruth Tufnell, Tom Ryder, Kate Knox, Maxine Hart, Tereza Horacek and Ian Ellis who exhibited work, Amanda Jewell, Gallery Curator, and to OR Arthur Laidlaw who sent artwork from Germany, but was thwarted by postal delays.

2nd The Best, Peter Hawkins (1993, H) Charlie wearing Granny’s Hat, John Antony Heath (1950, E) Ocean Wanderer, Toby King-Thompson (2009, B) Open Sights, Jasper Leadbeater (2010, F)

Phil Lambert (1993, E) with his submission Turf (May).

I live in Cardiff with my partner and three children. I work parttime for CASCADE, a research group at Cardiff University that is committed to improving the outcomes for parents and children who become involved with Social Services. I am an administrator and I help run Public Involvement, working with incredible parents who have had their children removed and now want to make a difference to the future of others, as well as children in care and the charities that support them. Together we all ensure our research is suitably targeted, meaningful, and communicated in a way that can be understood. I also use my role at the university to encourage staff to engage with the arts. Then, of course, I paint and look for opportunities to work collaboratively on my own arts projects.

This piece is a painting of a section of turf in my garden that was left to ‘re-wild’. A quadrat (surveying grid) was placed over the area to add a geometry to the composition and to aid with the observation of such a complex scene. I returned to this turf every month and produced a new painting … until it accidentally got mown! The paintings are painted with the soil from around the turf, which has been processed into a paint with linseed oil and wax.

The work is really about observation and measurement and, in that sense, about awareness. Without actively looking, we don’t really see. Through this work I became familiar with the range of grasses and plant species that were growing in something that I had previously just considered lawn. In this sense, the work relates to the lost art of field sketching in the sciences.

I was thinking a bit like a sculptor and asking how the materials contribute to the understanding of a painting. Is there more to paint than its colour? I first became interested in soil pigment as a metaphor for how the arts are often under-valued: ugly and dirty, the lowest and least aesthetic material. I was interested in whether painting could elevate this material, like a sort of alchemy.

Through the work I have met communities of pigment artists, farmers, land-rights activists and many different types of scientists, engineers and even soil-eaters! These conversations have led to a deepening understanding of soil. Globally, we are waking up to the importance of soil. Many of our antibiotics originate from soil bacteria, and our yield focused post-war farming practises are contributing to soil degradation, soil compaction, flooding, loss of biodiversity, antibiotic and microbial resistance, alongside many more related issues.

I hope the painting is interesting to look at and that it can provoke conversations or personal meditations about awareness, ecology, soil health and some of the other themes I have touched on. Although, I’m sceptical about whether my paintings should try and communicate too directly. What happens after the paintings are finished, in terms of the contexts they are shown in and the discussions that surround them, is often a slightly separate sphere and where the paintings can become activated in different ways.

In general, I think there is a link between lifelong education, the arts and creativity, which ultimately impacts on wellbeing. This is something that is worth championing, and we should ensure everyone has access to. On my Lead Creative Schools work, I think one of the key things I see is pupils and teachers becoming more confident at accepting and being with the uncomfortable feeling of uncertainty. It’s an integral part of creativity and I think this is an important and underappreciated lesson that comes from the arts.

With regard to the environmental themes, I place more of a focus on workshops where I share the techniques I have learnt. Environmental communications are usually directed at people, often in quite a negative way. I hope that through playing with soil, making paints, soil photographs and charcoal, people of all ages can respect and get to know these materials. Then become equal participants in the conversations around how to value them.

Lastly, I am currently working on a project for Cardiff University and White Ribbon Day (November 25th). White Ribbon is the UK’s leading charity engaging men and boys to end violence against women and girls. Their aim is to change long established, and harmful attitudes, systems and behaviours around masculinity that perpetuate gender inequality and men’s violence against women. “Disappearing Women” has been created by the illustrator Henny Beaumont. She has videoed herself painting portraits of women murdered by men in the UK. These videos are then reversed, so the women disappear.

▶ A soil photograph created by Phil Lambert from LLandaff soil solution mixed with silver nitrate and exposed to the sun on paper.

https://www.phillambert.co.uk https://hennybeaumont.com/ https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/