CONNECTION: KATHERINE JONES | FEATURE
A collaborative artwork created by 12 artists from across the UK, including Cardiff’s Katherine Jones, is now being auctioned for charity. Elouise Hobbs elaborates.
The Connection project, which began a few months ago, was initiated by Ken Bromley Art Supplies, who brought together one artist from each region of the UK to create a collaborative piece of artwork. Katherine Jones, from Cardiff, was selected to represent Wales – given the theme of ‘connection’, she hoped to inspire collaboration at a time when many people were feeling both physically and mentally isolated.
Jones has combined her dual experience as an architect and an artist to capture the feel of local buildings, which formed the inspiration for her addition to the project. “I feel that local places have become so important during lockdown, and our connection to our local community has become much stronger and so very important,” she explains. “People are rediscovering that they are intrinsically connected to their communities like never before.”
The idea behind the project was simple: to enable artists from different areas of the UK to connect through art, showcasing their own individual styles whilst collaborating to create one beautiful piece of art as a community. However, the process of creating the artwork, which ran in conjunction with the annual Inktober event, was a bit more complex.
The organisers started with a blank piece of A2 paper which they then posted around the UK for each artist to add their contribution. The artists were only allowed to use black pen and ink, and were asked to connect their contributions to each other’s in whatever way they felt they could.
The ambitious piece of work was a challenge, with many of the artists only having a few days to complete their addition.
“I think the challenges were knowing whether or not I should try to connect to the other drawings, so I did a little bit where I could,” Jones says. “However, I do really like that it is a mixture of different styles, but all tied together with the black-and-white pen-and-ink connection theme.”
The finished piece is being auctioned to raise money for the Co-op Foundation, who help fund community projects across the UK. This will also include a £50 voucher with the winning bid to get the artwork framed. More than just a one-off, Katherine hopes this project will help her to connect with other artists in the future: “I’m looking forward to connecting with the other artists once the piece is completed.”
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words ELOUISE HOBBS