*The Waiting Room by Karen Wilcox @ TOMA Project Space, Unit 13, Royals Shopping Centre, Southend, SS1 1DG

Re-opening: 11.07.20 - 12.09.20 with usual opening times: Saturday + Sunday 12-5pm

Karen Wilcox is an artist living in Eastwood, Southend-on-sea. Karen worked as an art therapist in various mental health settings over a 27-year period. The TOMA Project Space will be presenting a collection of previously un exhibited paintings and drawings by Karen, mostly dated around 1982, when she was drawing people with long standing mental health problems in a day centre in Southend-on-Sea. Karen was intrigued by the people seemingly unmoved by life and their surroundings. These images depict a quiet suffering. Figures often seem trapped in their own worlds, waiting in washes of greens, browns and yellows. This experience led Karen to the decision to combine a desire to understand and help people with her artistic interest. It also left her passionate about the need for counselling and therapy to help alleviate suffering and prevent people from taking their own lives.

After taking early ill health retirement Karen recently began painting again. There will be a selection of art and educational films linked to mental health and wellbeing to watch in our screening room. We are eager to share these incredibly special works with you in the first of two solo exhibitions happening this year offered to emerging artists from or living in Essex who have had to put their art practice on hold in the past due to caring for others.

Thank you to Arts Council England for funding towards our Project Space programme + The Royals Shopping Centre for supporting us with the space. The show is curated by Lolly Adams, assisted by Jessica Reeves and teched by Shaun Badham. All paintings and drawings are for sale, there are also selected prints and cards available in the TOMA shop.

The TOMA Project Space is an extension of the TOMA education programme which believes in accessible art education for everyone. TOMA artists also continue to make work and meet at the TOMA Project Space as part of the yearly education programme there.

* Instagram: @karenelizabethwilcox * Website:  www.artfinder.com/karen-wilcox

Karen's solo show The Waiting Room opened two days before the crisis peaked & we rightly closed our space due to the corona pandemic.  Karen has since discussed with us the irony of these works being about isolation to now find them in isolation while social distancing takes places worldwide. Below is an interview curator Lolly Adams had with Karen after lockdown came into action. They speak about the work, disability, mental health & isolation before COVID-19.