Mother and Son Art Day at the Towner in Eastbourne

Print description

When I was young, in Seville, my mother often used to take us to museums to spend the day surrounded by works of art. It could be the Fine Arts Museum, where I loved Murillo’s saints and Zurbarán’s monks, or the modern art museum, where I learned from Spanish avant-garde artists like Chillida and Pérez Villalta. The Archaeological Museum was next to it, offering the chance to learn about Phoenician, Greek, and Roman Seville. With this print, I want to pay homage to my mum and all the mothers who ensure their children learn about art and the world from an early age

Print details

To create this print, I start by crafting individual drawings in ink, which collectively form a collage comprising the final piece. I scan my drawings and digitally add colour. The original design solely exists in digital format, and I print it using archival inks and paper. I then release my design as a limited edition print, available in standard ‘A’ sizes, ranging from A0 (84.1 cm x 118.9 cm) to A4 (21 x 29.7 cm).

Towner Gallery Eastbourne

The Towner Gallery holds a special place in my heart. In 2009, while working in London as an architect for Rick Mather Architects, our entire studio travelled to Eastbourne to celebrate the opening of the new Towner Gallery building. I visit Eastbourne weekly and often stop by the gallery to enjoy their exhibitions

People and Places Revelations of Love

I love visiting the British Library. It regularly hosts different exhibitions, and in January 2025, I saw the show Medieval Women: In Their Own Words, which was fascinating. Among the exhibits was Julian of Norwich’s Revelations of Divine Love, circa 1675. I have borrowed this title to name my series of prints People and Places: Revelations of Love.

After recovering from her illness, Julian of Norwich chose to live as an anchoress—a woman who voluntarily isolated herself in a cell to dedicate her life to God. During her solitude, she meditated deeply on her spiritual visions. Many years later, she wrote a second version of her Revelations, known as the ‘Long Text,’ where she elaborated on the theological significance of these visions in much greater depth. This version has survived only through 17th-century copies made by English nuns in exile in Paris and Cambrai.

Another masterpiece I saw in this exhibition was a medieval book with an illustration titled Christine de Pisan with Queen Isabeau. Somehow, the vibrant colours of medieval books have also been a source of inspiration for this series

This work echoes many different sources, from Vuillard’s colourful depictions of the domestic patterned interior, many of which I saw at Pallant House Gallery in 2022, to the Alekos Fassianos Foundation, which I visited in Athens during the summer of 2023. Also in a mental periphery I can think of Ben Nicholson still lifes with his everyday objects; or Gwen John interiors, specially one exquisite painting ‘La chambre sur la cour’

The human figure in a scene

I have been running life drawing sessions in Brighton for many years, and the depiction of the human form fascinates me. Through this piece, I aim to express both my personal experiences and the environment where I live. So the inclusion of a figure is very important, referencing one of my living art heroes, artist Louis Fratino, with his modernist cubic contemporary classics. It also draws inspiration from a recent exhibition at Studio Voltaire in London, that featured a pairing of works by Beryl Cook and Tom of Finland, held in the summer of 2024