I have done a few arty new things so far this year – I painted a picture, created a dog sculpture, and even painted a picture with my feet – today I exceeded all of them and took part in an art exhibition.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t to showcase my world-class art – the art world hasn’t quite caught on to my unique vision just yet – instead, it was to be a part of an inclusive exhibition at the Schirn Kunsthalle in Frankfurt.
Artist Jeppe Hain created the exhibition Today I feel like… inviting visitors to come and share their emotions in the form of a self-portrait on the Schirn’s walls and windows.
The idea is for the visitors to empathise with the other faces/, at a time when understanding and empathy is especially needed.
The exhibition was already in its second, and final, weekend, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so busy. We had to wait a good half an hour to get in as due to the current restrictions, only 10 people were allowed up at a time, and there was a steady queue growing behind us. I was pleasantly surprised by how many art lovers there were who were willing to join in.
We were informed to draw anywhere on the windows, which felt delightfully rebellious, and so I set about creating my masterpiece.
As you can see, I absolutely nailed it. The curly hair, the square glasses, the toothless grin – I’ve captured all my best features. This took me around 2 minutes to paint, but the whole experience was so much fun. Just knowing that something I’ve created has been in this amazing museum is so cool, and there’s something about it being a fully interactive project that makes it a bit more special to look around, especially after months of us being isolated from one another.
New Day, New Thing 