The annual Tavi Open art exhibition has returned at the Tavistock Centre! This year, 37 artists have come together to share art and express their voices.

Tavi Open celebrates the creativity and talent of our service users, students and staff, as well as local artists. The theme is completely open, and both professional and amateur artists are welcome to participate.

As every year, the exhibition turned out wonderfully eclectic. There are paintings, drawings, photography as well as collage and textile works. The feedback has been really positive so far, with the visitors describing the exhibition as “thought-provoking” and “very well sequenced”.

Exhibition launch on 29 May

New names

Over a half of the artists this year are new names which perhaps is an indication of our expanding reach? One of them is Ayse Feyzullahoglu Topalcik, who first heard of the Tavistock from her lecturer while studying Psychology in Cyprus. Now based in London, she came to the launch event with her family.

Ayse’s mixed media work Chrysalis is one of my favourites. It’s dreamy and surreal, full of enigmatic symbolism: ghostly figures, a sleeping cat, a closed door floating in the air, an all-seeing eye embedded in the clouds above. Ayse says that it “evokes the moment before awakening, when the unconscious still whispers symbols”.

 

Thomas Cuthbertson is a newly qualified Art Psychotherapist. His mixed media artwork Separating Sun addresses attachment, separation and loss. The two suns represent two maternal figures: the biological and the foster one. Another mixed media piece, Write a Message and Let It Go by Karen Sun, is a reflection of being “in a safe and calm place, sharing memories that are dear to me”.

Returning artists

Some of the artists have been supporting us for years! Jocelyn West is an established musician and collage artist who has exhibited at the Tavi on many occasions. She describes her piece Lola’s Regret as “a cathartic work, loosely relating to the delicate and complex subject of abortion”.

Friends Margot Schiemann and Jan Woolf, who had their respective solo exhibitions at the end of last year, came back with mixed-media artworks. Another pair of friends are Heather Peri Niman and Maria Trimikliniotis. Heather contributed a drypoint artwork Love Potions, while Maria’s The Way of Tears is part of a diptych making a statement on the current political situation in Gaza.

Heather Peri Niman and Maria Trimikliniotis

Chrysanthi Theodoropoulou is a photographic and mixed-media artist, and a member of the Tavi art group. She’s playing with scale, focus and colour to create deliberately ambiguous images. The results are “mysterious environments that pave the way for stories that are yet to unfold.” This year, she’s showing her artwork Amorphon Impressions.

A View from the Deck by Janet Edwards is based on a photo taken during her very first cruise. The acrylic painting accurately reflects “the movement of the waves, the glow of the sunset, and the way the ship glided across the endless sea”. Janet said: “That moment stayed with me, and I knew I had to capture it on canvas.”

Human and nature

I was delighted how many artists found inspiration in nature. Brighton-based artist Kaela Woolf is showing photos from her Human Roots series, which explores “the detailed and intimate links between humans and the natural world”. Andy Wiener’s Glasdrum Wood Green Man is one of his photographic self-portraits inspired by the UK woodlands and alluding to the Green Man – “an ancient symbol of our entanglement with the natural world”.

Hisham Echafaki’s Acoustic Interference is another favourite of mine. I like the intense colours, and how much detail there is in the feathers of the red robin sitting between the headphones. Hisham told me it only took him a week to paint it, which I find impressive, particularly for a self-taught artist.

Despite the serene character, the artwork is actually an urgent commentary on the negative impact of noise pollution on birds. Hisham’s work celebrates the beauty and fragility of the natural world, with a particular focus on animals, plants and endangered species.

Hisham Echafaki

Portraits

There are some striking portraits in the exhibition! James Olusegun’s photograph Translucent – Joy is a snapshot of a woman laughing radiantly. The author explains that it “captures the essence of pure happiness”, presenting the titular joy as “sacred and unfiltered”.

For contrast, The Way Time Takes You by Sophie Adams makes for a slightly morbid reflection on life’s journey, ephemerality and transience. On surface, it’s just a portrait of a woman in oil on canvas. But look closely and you’ll see the skull revealed on the side of her face, blatantly illustrating the passage of time.

Kevin Huschak

My artworks

Did I contribute anything? Yes, but I kept it quite low profile. It’s an oil painting (as yet untitled) which is a rework of something I made years ago. But I hadn’t realized I was meant to hand it in for another exhibition at the same time! I added it a bit late, and on the opening night I showed a bonus sunset painting Der Abend. It’s quite old and I don’t like it that much anymore, but someone has kindly shared it with David Hoyle who said: “Wow! What a hauntingly beautiful Artwerk! [sic] Very atmospheric and skillful”. This made me appreciate it a bit more.

For this year’s Tavi Open, we scaled it down a bit, and yet it still took a lot of time and effort. But it was also a lot fun! Walking down the art space and looking at all the artworks makes me proud. Tavi Open 2025 runs until 3 July. Click here to read about last year’s edition.