Back of the blue head

Saturdays photo was the large blue head at work. Today is the back of it.

About the blue head -
The “Open Mind” project demonstrates the creativity of service users and staff at Fieldhead Hospital. It was conceived and facilitated by AiM (Artists in Mind), an arts charity based in Huddersfield. AiM practises “wellbeing through the arts” – harnessing the ability of the arts to positively transform and enrich the lives of those who experience acute and enduring mental ill health.
 Before the project began, a series of taster workshops were held with staff and service users at Fieldhead. These began to explore the possibilities of combining mosaic with sculptural forms, and looked at broad themes that might contribute to the final work.
“I arrived at the project with no predetermined ideas, I really wanted to be open minded about this design as I was aware I would be working with other artists, and people who often enjoy making art (hmm, what’s the difference? Probably not that much we decided!) So we started the project by looking at my work alongside that of some other artists who use mosaic in their work to get ideas flowing…” (Lead artist Amanda Wray)
During 10 weeks of workshops, lead artist Amanda Wray worked alongside two support artists from AiM (Jo Bramley and Jane Crewe), service users and staff, as they all made their own mosaics, ceramics and tiles which are included in the final artwork. One of the service users was very keen on tattoo imagery, so it was decided to include that within the final sculpture too. The group also referred to other artists who often work with the head; as well as looking at quirky old imagery of phrenology. All agreed it was great fun to use a variety of techniques.
“Art is all about self – so this art has to be about this group of people, at this time, in this place.” (Amanda Wray)
The head represents self, identity and personality, while the ceramic objects and tiles include birds, which represent freedom; houses, which represent the home; and sunsets representing paradise.