Labake isolation art and profile.

Labake's garden.

This time round the focus is on Labake. Labake has been coming to the Gate for around ten years, she is a key person in the group and likely the first person you'd come across on a visit as she loves meeting new people and making them feel welcome, often with a song if you happen to have visited in a group big enough to constitute an audience.

Living room.

One thing Labake really loves to do is sing and she can often be heard wandering round Shepherds Bush singing her songs at the top of her voice. Usually her songs are autobiographical and reflect some aspect of her life or often they have a social theme like the anti knife crime song in the video below (filmed by ace photographer Harley Weir on a recent photoshoot we attended for The Face Magazine) which on a recent trip to Scotland Yard Labake sang to the police commissioner Cressida Dick. 

Dining room.

Generally though they're more directly autobiographical, songs about her experiences as both a physically  and learning disabled mother of two or her or her Nigerian heritage, and often these themes also inform her visual art too. Under normal circumstances she can usually be found during gate art sessions constructing large sculptures out of cardboard boxes, or found objects (often toys like the dolls that she painted black and gave braided hair too), but since the isolation period began she has been busy drawing pictures of the home she shares with her family, examples of which can be seen here.

Kitchen.

Bedroom.

Front room.

In order to access cash and continue working with Gate artists while the gate is closed and they are locked down we have set up a gofundme to purchase materials - please click following link if you would like to contribute -  https://www.gofundme.com/f/54-the-gate-covid19-lockdown-fund

John Isolation art and profile

John's bed

John is one of the newer members of the Gate and has only been coming to the centre for the last couple of years or so. He's a thoughtful, contemplative guy who can often be found in the "chill out" room at The Gate quietly observing the decidedly unchilled chaos around him. The artwork John creates reflects this close observation and often take the form of depictions of objects around him such as the pictures shown here drawn whilst isolating of his bed and his beloved IPad.

John's IPad.

It was John's Ipad which facilitated his Art book Food, a collection of the food photography which we produced with him in 2018. The book is a collection of some of the thousands of images  John has taking over the last few years documenting his eating habits. John literally photographs everything he eats, meticulously and painstakingly arranging every meal or snack and then photographing but only after very careful consideration and often with much rearranging when the shot doesn't suit. The book was produced in an edition of 200 with an introduction by art critic Kari Rittenbach for the ICA's independent book fair which John attended and was a great success; we returned with only a handful of copies and it's probably overdue a reprint.

John's Book at the ICA Small Publishers Fair 2018

In order to access cash and continue working with Gate artists while the gate is closed and they are locked down we have set up a gofundme to purchase materials - please click following link if you would like to contribute -  https://www.gofundme.com/f/54-the-gate-covid19-lockdown-fund

Quarantine Radio Hour - Episode Five - Darren

Following on from yesterday's profile here is Darren's Quarantine Radio Hour Episode where he talks about his thoughts about the current situation and presents some of his favourite tunes including bangers from DJ Shadow and Public Enemy and also of course sneaks in a couple of his own -

In order to access cash and continue working with Gate artists while the gate is closed and they are locked down we have set up a gofundme to purchase materials - please click following link if you would like to contribute -  https://www.gofundme.com/f/54-the-gate-covid19-lockdown-fund

Darren Isolation music and profile.

Darren with Public Enemy's Chuck D

Darren is a key contributor to the Gate and is largely focused on the music side of things though has important input elsewhere too. Going under the name 2Decks Darren has been an active part of the learning disabled music scene in the UK for over a Decade, playing primarily in London and the South East but also appearing last year at the Sonic Protest festival in Paris (where he was also due to appear this year on the same night's billing as Lee Scratch Perry but this was unfortunately cancelled as a result of the current ongoing situation) and anyone who has seen him perform can attest to his power on a stage, as natural a performer as there has ever been with a commanding stage presence and an innate ability to work a crowd. Darren's main love is Hip-Hop music, particularly the UK originators such as Overlord X and much of his music takes that form with the odd bit of James Brown soul and showmanship thrown in for good measure.

Currently Darren's music takes 2 main forms; the solo output which Darren produces at home laying down the instrumental tracks on his laptop and most often then laying over vocals (though sometimes not). An example of this is the "soundtrack" below recorded recently whilst locked down.

The other form Darren's music takes currently is his band set up, joining up with other Gate members, Josh (guitar), Roberto (Drums/Backing Vocals) and Leon (Bass) to form a Rock/rap hybrid that brings the house down wherever it plays. See below for a prime example of this:

 

Darren says he is doing ok during the lockdown, he's playing on his Playstation 3 and has plenty of data on his mobile so can watch video's on youtube and browse the internet when he's bored or phone his sister when he needs anything.

In order to access cash and continue working with Gate artists while the gate is closed and they are locked down we have set up a gofundme to purchase materials - please click following link if you would like to contribute -  https://www.gofundme.com/f/54-the-gate-covid19-lockdown-fund

THE WORLD OF LEARNING DISABILITY ART - MODULE ONE.

We've created this Learning Disability Art module for Gate Members and support workers to use with their service users and also for anyone else who wishes join in (if you're home-schooling your kids why not introduce them to something a little different). 

Please find download to PDF version of the below GIF HERE.

In order to access cash and continue working with Gate artists while the gate is closed and they are locked down we have set up a gofundme to purchase materials - please click following link if you would like to contribute -  https://www.gofundme.com/f/54-the-gate-covid19-lockdown-fund

Duane's Quarantine Radio Hour and Isolation Art.

Duane is one of the younger Gate members, he's a good-natured, friendly presence there with his  enthusiasm and willingness to have a go at almost everything we do. He takes part in video drama, is actively involved in the arts sessions and fashion work and is a frequent performer in Jamaica!! our free music collective where he often provides a steady unchanging pulse on the one stringed guitar. He's most passionate about his songwriting though and his aspirations towards being a Hip-Hip/R'n'B star like his heroes like Eminem or Jay-Z.

Examples of Duane's songs can be heard here in the latest episode of our Quarantine Radio Hour series:

A Mr. Amazing "tag" drawn whilst in isolation.

Much of Duane's visual art is inspired by his love of street culture too and takes the form of graffiti styled text pieces usually of his "Tag name" Mr. Amazing like the one shown here.

Duane says he has been doing well during his isolation and has been looking after and hanging out with his family and being peaceful so is making the best off it. Says he is missing all his friends at the Gate especially Jamie who is his good friend and a kind guy but has been keeping in touch with some of them.

In order to access cash and continue working with Gate artists while the gate is closed and they are locked down we have set up a gofundme to purchase materials - please click following link if you would like to contribute -  https://www.gofundme.com/f/54-the-gate-covid19-lockdown-fund

Labake Quarantine Radio Hour

Labake's turn to head the podcast - Featuring some of her favourite songs from her arsenal. Loki's been keeping busy doing masses of isolation art while we'll be showcasing soon.
 

In order to access cash and continue working with Gate artists while the gate is closed and they are locked down we have set up a gofundme to purchase materials - please click following link if you would like to contribute -  https://www.gofundme.com/f/54-the-gate-covid19-lockdown-fund

Richie Isolation art and profile

Ghanaian flag drawn whilst in isolation.

Watching TV on lockdown.

Richie is one of our newer regular members and has been coming to the Gate on a regular basis for a couple of years. Despite being newer than some though he is involved in a great deal of what we do there and besides his visual art he produces songs (which we'll feature in a future update), is one of the presenters on our Gate Kicks radio show, is a member of our free music collective Jamaica and also has much to say in the learning disability awareness training we provide as well as being an active member of our self advocacy group. 

The view from Richie's window

Much of Richie's visual artwork is autobiographical such as the Ghanaian flag presented above which reflects his heritage or the sculptural work he does at the centre which often based around his favourite television programmes or films (see the Harry Potter doll and bed presented here for an example of this).

Harry Potter doll and bed

Richie is a mellow guy who loves football Chelsea and music and though he keeps himself to himself to a certain extent is also up for a laugh with the other Gate patrons in the chill out room.

Richie says it has been difficult for him during the lockdown because he keeps hearing on the news about being people dying and it depresses him but also says he is doing okay and is watching lots of TV and films to keep himself busy and only going out if he really needs to.

In order to access cash and continue working with Gate artists while the gate is closed and they are locked down we have set up a gofundme to purchase materials - please click following link if you would like to contribute -  https://www.gofundme.com/f/54-the-gate-covid19-lockdown-fund

Mary Isolation Art and Profile.

A Mary text piece.

Mary's latest picture done whilst on lockdown is in some ways typical of the art she produces but Mary really isn't someone for whom adjectives like typical often apply and unlike many of the Gate artists there is a huge divergence within her work some of which you can see below. However, what often features in Mary's pieces is copied text and images, sometimes pulled randomly from books or newspapers or leaflets around her and sometimes, perhaps as here, something chosen perhaps more specifically, a guess would be that this image comes from literature given to her by the support workers in the house she lives in.

Mary's figures.

Mary is one of the Gate's mainstays having been a regular attendee for over 10 years and often being the first to arrive and likewise the first to leave. She's a keen contributor to almost everything that goes on there and often takes on a befriending role with gate members who need that. She is a prolific producer of visual art, often working in phases, like the time she spent six months or so drawing round a plastic fish as the centrepiece and embellishing from there or more recently the grid pieces she has created in felt tip.

Felt tip grid pictures.

Mary's output is far more varied than represented here though and we'll post more examples of this in future update's along with songs she has recorded and much more that she has produced over the years with us.

Dismantling a Macbook.

"You wash your hands because germs - don't touch your hair, eye, mouth cos you got germs on your hands. People go to hospital they not well and people were clapping for the nurses and doctors." Mary on current situation.

In order to access cash and continue working with Gate artists while the gate is closed and they are locked down we have set up a gofundme to purchase materials - please click following link if you would like to contribute -  https://www.gofundme.com/f/54-the-gate-covid19-lockdown-fund

GoFundMe - 54 The Gate Covid-19 Lockdown Fund

Obviously the Gate has had to close during the Covid-19 crisis to keep everybody and so all of our artists are now locked down without access to their usual creative outlets and social networks.

In an effort to ease the effects of isolation and to promote the wellbeing of the Gate artists we have embarked upon a programme to provide art materials and other necessities with the intention of enabling them to document their time locked down.

To do this we need easy access to funds to purchase these materials and that's where your donation would come in.

Please help us with whatever you can, every penny will help us.

And don't be shy if you think you might be able to help us in any other way, do get in touch.

See you on the other side of this.

Gate Kicks presents Quarantine Radio Hour - Episodes 1 & 2.

Here are the first of our broadcasts recorded remotely while the guys are isolating on lockdown.

First up is Richie:


And here is the second with Leon's views on face masks and various electronica selecctions;



More to come.

Art In Isolation II

Here's something from Leon. Also, you can check his edition of our new mini-podcast series 'Quarantine Radio Hour' on Friday! Click here for that

Jamaica!! and Sly & the Family Drone in The Wire Magazine.

Click pic for better / readable viewing.

 

Art In Isolation

Here's some great isolation artwork from Glenn and Labake. Check out our instagram page for more -  https://www.instagram.com/54thegate/