Art for all the senses
An extensive exhibition of one of UAL’s most outstanding postgraduate students will take place at Chelsea College of Art and Design in April. Aaron McPeake, a blind artist whose work explores the strengths of the other senses, will show over 100 pieces at Chelsea to mark the conclusion of his PhD.
The exhibition, which includes bronzes, photography, film and print work, will be spread across indoor spaces including the Old Library and the Morgue, as well as large parts of the College grounds. Alumni and friends are very welcome to visit.
Aaron’s PhD thesis, entitled Nibbling at Clouds – The Visual Artist Encounters Adventitious Blindness, examines how visual artists who have come to lose their sight in later life continue to engage with their art practice. This relates to his own condition, which has resulted in a deterioration in his vision in recent years and left him with about 10% of normal vision.
Once I Saw it All (2008)
Losing a Sense of the World (2009)
Iceland Landscape 3 (2008)
Icarus and His Mother (2008)
Icarus and His Mother (2008)
Cloud Rubbing 9
Labyrinth Ireland (2008)
Silent Painting (2010)
Singling Bowl (2010)
Aaron firmly believes that none of his achievements would have been possible without the support of a scholarship donated by the Hackmey Family, a gift he likens to an organ transplant which “gives the recipient the opportunity to engage with life in a more complete way.
“I cannot overstate my gratitude to the Hackmey Family,” he says, “whose generosity has had such a profound effect on my life and work.”
Aaron’s plans for the future include further commissions and exhibitions, as well as teaching engagements at UAL and elsewhere, passing his knowledge, expertise and enthusiasm to future generations.
Opening hours:
24 April, 10.30-16.00
25-27 April, 10.30-18.00
28 April, 10.30-16.00
Free entry
