im in an art exhibition

[LDAutie]

venturearts.org/exhibitions... and phm.org.uk/exhibitions/unti...

(i hate the alphabet order-im always right at the bottom on artist lists lol).

some of you know me already but,my name is emlyn and im whats called an outsider artist-venture arts (which is the supported art studio i go to for kids, teens, youngens and adults with learning disability) linked my name to my 'outside in' portfolio as i update it every day,which is a lot more pro and up to date than my ow nwebsite. id love it if anyone woud like to look as yesterday i finished work on a huge A3 sized sketch i did of my uncle william (who has PMLD) i made it for my mum and she cant wait till i buy a very cheap frame-she wont ever let me buy anything that hasnt got a reduced price sticker on it: outsidein.org.uk/galleries/...

-this is my second ever art exhitbition .i am so happy. it is in the peoples history museum in manchester and its been running for i think a week...or two up to now? if anyone wants to visit thers supposed to be a tesco acros the road which allows you to park for up to an hour for cheap, otherwise the nearest parking is the dearer NPC car park,the museum lady told my staff it was 2 minutes away even after being told im physicaly disabled,'2 minutes' is in able bodied talk. otherwise get a taxi or if you are able to-public transport,and the museum is wheelchair friendly.

its running an exhibit of 12 VA artists,everyone has all done absolutly fab work but i know some of them who got into the exhibit as friends and they are really worth going to see if any of you are into learning disability arts.

i was shown loads of photos of the exhibit opening day and all of us have got a huge wall with are artwork,our name in big letters and are work mounted and in a frame and ceramics work has been put into see threw boxes-my huge ceramic catfish model is my favrite. i did make a huge ceramic axolotyl fish model-only just finished it,one of my support staff picked it up without asking and dropped it smashing it into pieces,after all the effort i went threw.

i didnt get to go to the opening day for the artists and our family/staff as my staffing was really screwed up and it still is often but i feel so happy that its my first proper art exhibition (my last one, was around december,in manchester and i never went to see it as i didnt know what had been picked for it).

[49Twister]

It looks an amazing exhibition. When I have more time I will view it for longer and comment further. You should be so proud of yourself after all you have been through, well done.😊

[LDAutie in reply to 49Twister]

hi!!! thankyou Twister for posting! i went today to the exhibition for the first time today,and took a photo of my wall.i woud have took everyones to show the group here but i dont know if its allowed to take photos of other peoples work ive never been in an art gallery before- ill have to ask venture arts.

its my first real experience of ever getting anywhere with any work ive done so i was really really happy. ive never in my life even had a certificate to say ive done or won something. all the artists im exhibitingf with are well known in the LD and/or autism art world and very profesnal-it feels amazing that VA think my work is good enough to go with theres.

they had mostly used my artwork id made around disability issues i personaly experience, apart from 'ode to grumpycat' which i made when grumpycat died as i was/am a huge fan of her.i will post the other work of mine that they have displayed on the other side of my ceramic fish-it was actualy a model of one of my two huge catfish in my 400 litre tropical fish tank. when i got home,after some time i had a big seizure,im still recovering from that-im very tired.

these are the artworks from the first photo:

#the PADDED HELMET picture is because i have been prescribed padded helmets for many,many years for both my head banging and epilepsy, and i get a lot of abuse in public for it, so i had made this a few years ago to highlight the use of medical helmets,the title of the paint is wrong though it isnt water colour i had used specialist pebeo fantasy moon paint (which when painted on,bubbles up into diferent textures) and acrylic paint for the person.

#the SENSORY OVERLOAD picture is because of the service im in have never understood me-i honestly woudnt wish this place on my worst enemy.

its not just brutal noise from early till mid morning (after over two years theyre being evicted,but they havent recognised the noise issue in doing the eviction as so many staff refused to report it on my behaf as they were either mates with him or scared of him),its the other sensory issues besides noise;clothes-i feel extreme sensory pain wearing clothes and ive always worn nothing until i was moved into institutional care,over the years i was slowly forced into wearing minimum ie underwear and nappy (im doubly incontinent), and up until my current place- i was able to cope just about (with some overload) ,unfortunately the management who had no understanding of complex autism and leaerning disability went and asked all the staff working with me do they feel ok with me being sat in my own place with minimal clothing on. every person back then was fine and knew why i needed it, one person went quiet and said he "kind of has issues with me being in my nappy and underwear" (completely ignoring my sensory issues and everywhere ive ever lived has never had a problem with it,i only dress that way indoors)-so i was told i had to wear full clothing in my place at all times instead of 'we will swap staff about to meet your disability needs'.

im in agony everyday with my clothing, so this is why i drew the little person to the bottom right of the canvas as happy with no clothes on and sad with clothes on.

the man in the middle is reacting badly as he is in sensory overload.

the ODE TO GRUMPYCAT picture is because grumpycat died at age 7,i was a huge fan of her as my dads cat has feline dwarfism as well (which is what grumpycat had) so i made the picture in metalic water colour paint,my staff wrote NO! for me as its such a normal thing on memes of grumpycat. besides watercolour i also had to use sharpies for the writing and whiskers. this was made back in whatever year grumpycat died-defintly not 2021.....ill post another picture.......

a wall with a persons name and their paintings on it

[LDAutie in reply to 49Twister]

another picture,this one of my very large catfish ceramic model (based on one of my two chonky pet catfish),i painted it,designed it ,moulded it,etched every single fin you see and designed the colouring, you cant tell but my awesome tutor hollowed it out because if you put a full model like my fish into the kiln itll break up.

i am very proud of this model becausee it took a very long time to make and finish, and because i have such bad nerve damage to my spine (it affects my hands,wrists and arms a lot now)that made it even longer as i made this completly by hand,smoothing it down anf shaping it,the only thing i needed a tool for was designeing the scales or the fins .

photo of a cubed glass case with a ceramic model of a catfish inside it.

[LDAutie in reply to 49Twister]

another is about learning disability awarness week 2021 (not autism awareness-which the autistic community or most people in the general population think im highlighting,autism on its own is not a learning disability and please post if anyone disagrees,there are lots of pages on mencaps site about the difference)... i highlighted mild learning disability in the first picture on especialy as this is ignored very often but not understood,especialy in care or learning disability hospitals,but i made the skull playtes all different colours to show that learning disability is all different experiences and levels.

and the last one is of the other half of my wall,its all disability political stuff i made.

one is about transgender in learning disability.

sorry im not being lazy i just dont want it linked on here,if you want to read more about my interest in this,read my 'outside iin' profile.

the next picture on the right is a guy being sat on by a bunch of people and barely able to breathe. this was me when i was sectioned at a learning disability hospital some years ago and lost my pets and home thanks to a nasty narcisistic sociopath who filled vunerable adult forums with multiple accounts,they had groomed then bullied me so much online and i wasnt able to communicate to my support staff i developed extreme challenging behavioe, and very severe depresion (so far,ive spotted theyve got two accounts on here/mencap) this artwork is based on a song by killer mike from rap duo- run the jewels, i heard it on an episode of southpark,it was about eldely people in a care home getting badly institutionalised and harmed in there care home, i loved the song and lyrics bbut i chanegd them and put them on a guy with LD being pinned down by five people,he is institutionalised in a learning disability hospital,i based it on my own restraint experiences in a LD hospital which led to me being unable to breathe each time they jumped on my back,sitting up MRIs have proven my spine was crumbled in part of it and spinal nerves being very damaged,this is what caused me to draw this piece.

thankyou so much if you,twister...or anyone else has got this far,thankyou.

framed artwork of a learning disabled artist.

[49Twister in reply to LDAutie]

Well Michelle 1965 got there before me haha 😆 You really are amazing and as Michelle rightly says a powerhouse. You have not had the easiest of lives with all the difficulties and adversity you’ve had to face and overcome. I salute your parents too as it must have been so difficult for them to see you face these challenges. Continue the good work and the aura of positivity you share with everyone when offering great advice to many on this forum.

LDAutie for Prime Minister.👏

[Library-girl]

These are fab you should be so proud well done you 👏🏻☺️

[Michele1965]

Your work is beautifully powerful and powerfully beautiful. It compels the viewer to reflect on our own behaviour and values and ignorance as well as that of the wider community and beyond. Warzone is stunning. It is both distressing yet the light attempting to break through offers hope. The inflexibility of the subject material powerfully captures the permanence and persistence of discrimination, intolerance and injustice. Is this piece of art for sale?

Your talent is raw, proudly unabashed, honest and searing. You are a powerhouse in your relentless advocacy and pursuit of right and justice. You help so many in myriad ways and you never complain or give up. If you entered the arena of politics you would soon separate the wheat from the chaff in your truth seeking for the oppressed.

You LDAutie are a powerhouse.