I have been transforming into art, plastic net bags that supermarkets continue to bag fruits and vegetables in, for the last 18 months. The communities I work with have rallied round in upcycling them and handing them in at several collection points. People are fascinated by how beautiful they become and are drawn into the web of connections I like to create with them.
i realised that this was particularly useful in bringing together communities after the pandemic and travelled with the nets reaching diverse groups of people aged 4 to 92. I have made a short video here from highlights of the workshops i did at the University College London’s speech centre.
I collaborated at UCL with Dr.Michael Dean to do some workshops with Aphasia patients to stimulate thoughts and encourage communication through drawings, writing, spoken words or gestures. There were many heartwarming moments when words trapped in their brains were rediscovered. i will always cherish the big bear hug one of the participants, gave me spontaneously when he found a lost word after a bit of a struggle. It made my day.
The best thing we can do is give each other time and space plus the respect that everyone deserves. This experience reaffirmed my belief in the transformative power of art and the need to spread kindness. I hope you enjoy the video.
This piece and associated kindness story is from Anita Chanda go and check out their other work and support small, independent artists.
This post is in collaboration with Art Can.