New exhibition asks ‘what does homeland mean to you?’
New exhibition asks ‘what does homeland mean to you?’
25 September 2024
For our latest exhibition, This Homeland, we partnered with the Responsa Foundation to ask artists what the word means to them. The resulting display, now at Charing Cross Hospital, features more than 30 submissions across a variety of mediums including ceramics, photography, and poetry.
Alongside their artwork, each artist has contributed a short text or poem reflecting on their unique perspective.
For Puthimart Naothaworn, ‘homeland’ is the memory of her maternal grandpa, a drawing of whom is now part of the exhibition. She said: “We all miss him. I try my best to remember the photos I have seen of him and his family. I see the fridge door open, stocked to the brim with every condiment I can possibly imagine. A slap of a thousand aromas in my face.
“I think of the countless succulent Poysian plants he’d kept, many still here, flowering and multiplying despite his long absence. A reminder that he was, and is still, here with us.”
"I was born in an NHS hospital, and I may depart from one. We are all part of the NHS whether we’re a patient or a caregiver"
Laura Grainger, Artist
Among the 33 artworks featured are Laura Grainger’s ceramics, inspired by her work for the NHS.
“Going to work feels comforting, like you’re home,” she said. “I can’t ever imagine leaving. I was born in an NHS hospital, and I may depart from one. We are all part of the NHS whether we’re a patient or a caregiver, so we must all protect it, engage with it, cherish it like its family, so that patient care, experience and health outcomes for all can long continue.”
“There is a lot going on at the moment to do with immigration, and racism, and general xenophobia, which we saw with the recent riots. The exhibition is about how people feel attached to their home and what it all means to them.
“It came about from an open call to artists. Many people featured aren’t well known and have a small online presence. One of them doesn’t even have an email address! We’re not interested in elite art, we’re interested in the everyday person who might walk past the exhibition and be able to get something from it.”
You can view This Homeland inside the main entrance at Charing Cross Hospital until December, when it moves to St Mary’s Hospital.
