A week ago today I was half way through my first solo two day exhibition at NSH Arts in London, Mile End. I was feeling very excited and felt very blessed that the evening before had gone so well and how wonderfully I had been received. My exhibition was organised by Art Saves Lives an organisation which I am a resident artist for in London. The exhibition was my largest yet with 26 paintings.
Artist Charlotte Farhan
The Venue – NSH Arts – London
The Space
“A classic Georgian House the east end of London, 439 Mile End Road has been refurbished to offer a versatile set of spaces intended for exhibition of 2D and 3D installations, music, theatre and study. The scale is defined by the domestic setting – but the possibilities are dramatic – including opera and indoor/outdoor exhibitions.”
Nick Hugh the director was so helpful and operates his venue and organisation with a relaxed professionalism which is calming for the artist and audience.
For further details please visit NSH Arts website
http://www.nsharts.org/index.html
Organised by Art Saves Lives – London
“Art Saves Lives is a not-for-profit arts organisation dedicated to providing inspirational and inclusive arts experiences to engage marginalised and underprivileged young artists in the UK. We offer our artists a plethora of multi-media visual arts, performing arts and film opportunities to unleash their artistic potential and transform their lives.”
Mr Dean Stalham – Company Director, organised my exhibition and promoted it. Dean was amazing and I am very grateful for his help and dedication.
http://artsaveslives.co.uk/about-us-2/team-asl
Miss Sadie Kaye – Artistic Director, offered continuous moral support and aided me through out my creative process all the way from Hong Kong, as always I am very grateful.
Please show your support for Art Saves Lives and check out their site
- Exhibition Poster – created by Art Saves Lives
artsaveslives.co.uk
Here is my exhibition for all those who could not attend and for those who are just finding out about my art. I hope you will feel as if you were there.
Breaking Through During Waking – An Exhibition by Charlotte Farhan
My vision for this exhibition was a collection of my best work which represented my journey so far. From childhood memories, life stories and events, with political and religious comments and parts of my inner self which begged to be exposed and exploded from my mind on to canvas. My work is always reflective and is meant to provoke discussion and to reflect positive energy from colour.
Alter Ego (self portrait) By Charlotte Farhan
This is my only and first attempt at a self-portrait. I also reflected my alter ego instead of my outer known self. My alter ego is a moody, dramatic and negative nightmare with no care for the world or their place in it.
Amman Cityscape (down town) – By Charlotte Farhan
From the collection ‘Jordan (the Hashemite Kingdom)’ 2012 A naive abstraction of shape and use of engaging colours to represent the feelings and expressions the city gives.
Anxiety – By Charlotte Farhan
This is a depiction of anxiety. The 5 symbols are the main neurotransmitters involved with anxiety. Anxiety disorders are associated with decreased activity of serotonin, dopamine and Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain. Norepinephrine (NE) and Epinephrine (adrenalin) can be overactive and are the hormones and neurotransmitter which allows us to have the “fight or flight” response to stress.
A Spoon Full Of Sugar – By Charlotte Farhan
Medication is as easy to get hold of as candy. People are being medicated and loured in by false advertisements and ideals towards states of constant happiness. Being locked into a system which is designed as a business, not an organisation for the welfare of human kind.
The Way You Make Me Feel – By Charlotte Farhan
From the collection ‘The Power of Women and Femininity’ 2013 This represents the healthy acceptance of my body with the love of my husband and myself which has been an on-going struggle throughout my life. Being healthy is beautiful whichever shape you are.
True Colours – By Charlotte Farhan
From the collection ‘The Power of Women and Femininity’ 2013 Our inner feelings are often masked and not shown. This is a reflection on our inner voice and true feelings.
- Rainbow Street (Amman) & Amman at Dusk – By Charlotte Farhan
Amman at Dusk – By Charlotte Farhan
Amman, is a city which reminds me of how strong I am and reminds me of the adventure and diversity which exists on our planet. I have faced many fears to visit this amazing city in Jordan where my husband is from. It is a spiritual home where I found an inner peace on my second visit in 2011.
Amman, Rainbow Street – By Charlotte Farhan
“Rainbow Street” is in the historic area of Jabal Amman, Jordan. This is the home of the artistic community located at the heart of Amman’s oldest neighbourhood. An inspirational and energetic vibe is felt here.
Silence is Oppressive – By Charlotte Farhan
Fear of telling a secret or confessing to feelings of despair or self-loathing can causes the silence to rule over you repressively. Our mind and body holds these feelings and thoughts and buries them in our memory to preserve how much our mind can deal with at any one time, dictating our thoughts.
Le Consulat, Montmartre, Paris – By Charlotte Farhan
This is from the collection ‘Ma belle France’ 2013 A naive impression of the famous cafe in Montmartre, Paris, called Le Consulat. In the background you can see the Sacre Coeur.
Genderless Love – By Charlotte Farhan
Love is genderless! Our culture and most cultures associate love to have different natures and to be felt differently by the opposite sex or that a same sex relationship has limits, boundaries and shame. Love is genderless, it is limitless.
Candy Girl By Charlotte Farhan
This is a comment on the consequences of the over exposure and sexualisation which children are subjected to in our media. This directly has a negative impact on self-image and healthy development, self-image problems such as shame leading to depression and anxiety.
She is a Warrior – By Charlotte Farhan
I like to think of myself as a survivor or more accurately a warrior. I have fought battles and defeated negative armies. I like the visualisation that my inner warrior is in control and can defeat negative thoughts instantly.
Dualism – By Charlotte Farhan
An expressionist representation of physical and spiritual dualism, from a philosophical view point. I asked myself what is spirit?
That Day – By Charlotte Farhan
This is an expressionist piece reflecting the sadness and isolation experienced after a devastating trauma and how “that day” is frozen in time forever.
Memories – By Charlotte Farhan
Trees have played an important role in many of the world’s mythologies and religions, and have been given deep and sacred meanings throughout the ages. My trees symbolise life and death and in particular the death of my friend Jenny who lives on in my art as a tree.
Paris at Dawn – By Charlotte Farhan
Paris is where my family are from and is where I spent so much of my life. I am proud to be French and will always enjoy and feel the need to paint my city
Misused & Abused – By Charlotte Farhan
A political statement about the role religion plays and how it is used to accuse and vindicate our beliefs towards who is to blame for poverty, hunger and war.
A Gift From You – By Charlotte Farhan
From ‘The Flower Collection’ 2013 A gift that is given of beauty and nature has been used for centuries and its meaning is endless. The language of flowers, called floriography, was a form of communication in which flowers were used to send coded messages, allowing the expression of feelings which otherwise could not be spoken.
Feeling Love – By Charlotte Farhan
This is from the collection ‘The Power of Women and Femininity’ 2012 A mixed media piece which symbolises the feeling of being loved unconditionally.
Divine Authority – By Charlotte Farhan
I grew up as a French Catholic and went to Roman Catholic convents and schools in England. A concept and dogma was a faceless authority of all good and bad to me as a child. It has led me to another spiritual path of deism but the authority is still felt and engrained.
Freedom Over Life – By Charlotte Farhan
This explores the controversy surrounding suicide. This is a representation of my beautiful best friend Jenny who I met in an adolescent psychiatric ward, she committed suicide after suffering from severe mental illness and being hospitalised for years. Jenny’s medical condition caused her to make a choice. As devastated as we all were we all understood and felt no anger. Jenny is free now.
Earth – By Charlotte Farhan
This symbolises the notion of “mother earth” and how nature can immolate gender association and how we anthropomorphize nature.
- PTSD – By Charlotte Farhan
This is a reflective piece. It is painted in a naïve style. This represents the image my inner child would paint to explain the emotions attached to this condition. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe condition that may develop after a person is exposed to one or more traumatic events.
With Flowers in her Hair – By Charlotte Farhan
From the collection ‘The Power of Women and Femininity’ 2013 Women have been associated with the physical side of life our role has always been described as being ‘closer to nature’. Women have been affected by the devaluation throughout time and this is reflected in our images and media, this is an image to empower and readdress the positive.
X Rated – By Charlotte Farhan
A women climaxing and feeling extreme pleasure and lust. Women are still thought of differently when thought to be sexually liberated. Negative associations and expectations are placed on women.
Fabio Tedde
During my exhibition the fabulously talented pianist Fabio Tedde played his music. Fabio’s music set the scene for a relaxed evening. Pleasure for the ears and the eyes was our collaboration.
Here are some videos of Fabio Tedde for you to listen to
You can also visit his website
http://www.fabiotedde.com/en/index.php
Fabio Tedde playing at Charlotte Farhan’s exhibition at NSH Arts, London Photography by Charlotte & Mohammed Farhan
The Wonderful singer/songwriter Lánre also sang three amazing songs and the one she picked especially for my exhibition, was this song called “inspiration”
Lánre – Inspiration
Lánre – Singing at Charlotte Farhan’s exhibition at NSH Arts, London. Photography By Charlotte and Mohammed Farhan
Lánre is a beautiful women with true soul which runs deep and pleases the ears with a delightful ease and passion. A rising star who has a long and bright future ahead, watch this space because Lánre is coming!!
Fabio Tedde & Lánre performing together at Charlotte Farhan’s Exhibition at NSH Arts, London
Photography by Charlotte and Mohammed Farhan
Internal Thoughts – By Charlotte Farhan
Donated to raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital, in association with Art Saves Lives
GUEST SPEAKERS
We also had inspiring guest speakers and were supported by Community Options with Ian bland, speaking about the organisation and who runs a creativity project for Art Saves Lives called Credo.
http://www.community-options.org.uk/#
“Our vision is for everyone who is experiencing mental ill-health to have access to appropriate and timely support and to lead valued lives in the community as equal citizens.”
http://www.credoceramics.org/v/index
“Through gentle encouragement professional support and guidance we enable our members to explore their creative potential and build self confidence and self worth. “
Also Philip Singh, who runs a council funded user led mental health support group. Part of a network of 33 groups in tower hamlets called SUN.
http://www.swlstg-tr.nhs.uk/our-services/sun-service-user-network/
The Service User Network (S.U.N) is a group peer support service which helps people cope with personality disorder and emotional/behavioural difficulties.
It aims to help service users feel more supported, less excluded and more empowered. This is achieved through learning new coping strategies, which can help people have fewer crises, and be able to access other services more simply when needed.
S.U.N works alongside mainstream services
Inspiring and informative talks – Thank you
Dualism – By Charlotte Farhan
This painting is now in the permanent art collection of Nick Hugh the director of NSH Arts and this is a true honour.
Exhibition Photos – By Mohammed Farhan & Edited By Charlotte Farhan
I hope you have enjoyed my exhibition
Thank you for visiting – your support is gratefully received
If you are interested in my work please visit my website
http://www.charlottefarhanart.com/
An artist has every right – one may even say a duty – to exhibit their productions as prominently as they can.
(Jacques Barzun)
Charlotte Farhan Art - Creating Change 
What a great exhibition! Good luck with everything :).
Thank you so much for taking the time to look at it 🙂 fingers crossed this is just the beginning. xx
Beautiful pieces! Art is all around us, and your exhibition pieces captured here exude color and warmth. Good luck!
PS: I love your hair! 🙂
Thank you so much for your lovely comment and the support xx