Church to stage art exhibition by prisoners

AN exhibition of artwork by prisoners from two local prisons is to go on at All Saints Church, Thelwall on Saturday and Sunday, June 29-30.
Aim of the display “Journey into Light” is to demonstrate to visitors that behind every prisoner’s conviction and sentence is a personal story of love, hope and loss.
The exhibition is made up of more than 40 individual pieces of art produced by prisoners from Thorn Cross Prison, Appleton, and Styal Prison.
Vicar the Rev Douglas Black says the exhibition is a wonderful opportunity to see prisoners in a new light:
He said: “Prisoners are often viewed as ‘the other’ yet they live in our midst, are a part of our communities and contribute to our societies.
“The Bible has much to say about the plight of prisoners and the Christian faith recognises that every person is made in the image of God and is valued despite our individual mistakes and regrets.
“ The Journey into Light exhibition allows us the opportunity to better understand the lived experiences of prisoners in Cheshire.”
The exhibition is inspired by the work of David Ashbrook who discovered an extraordinary gift for painting while serving a life sentence. He painted the signature artwork used for the exhibition.
On his release, he focused upon hope and renewal and was starting to share this message of love through his artwork when his life was tragically cut short in a car accident in 2008.
The exhibition is a partnership between All Saints, Thelwall, the Diocese of Chester and chaplains from the two prisons who have worked with the prisoners to produce the pieces of art.
Exhibits differ in style from large acrylic paintings, abstract landscapes, and self-portraits.