Chris Avis

As we get older we can become displaced from our roots, our hopes and dreams may diminish because of the attitudes and preconceived ideas of those around us. We have lost our youth and society thinks we have lost our drive and creativity. We are expected to become slow, quiet and repetitive. ‘Third Age’ a four minute powerpoint presentation, takes the viewer from the actual comments made by curators about older artists through to a brighter future where anything may be possible. It challenges any form of displacement. The images of older women are photographs that incorporate print and digital manipulation. These images are an honest reflection on the effects of age on the physical body. They portray integrity, individuality and strength of character and importantly, are images of life lived.

‘Third Age’ the film (37 minutes) can be seen on Vimeo.

As an older artist herself she has been exploring elements of the ageing process for several years. In 2013 she received a Winston Churchill Travel Fellowship where she spent six weeks researching the attitudes of the arts communities in the cities of Berlin, Copenhagen and Amsterdam towards older artists. Results were depressing and statements from gallerists that dismissed those over the age of fifty were galling.

This was followed in 2014 with a very successful Barbican Guildhall Open Lab where eleven older visual and performing arts professionals from across Europe investigated the prejudices and preconceptions linked to age and creativity through their own disciplines. A week spent in the Pit Theatre in the Barbican (London) provided valuable time and space for improvisation and collaborative design that is still ongoing.

Since leaving senior management in 2009 to return to her roots as a practising professional visual artist she has exhibited widely in both group and solo shows in London and across the UK.

www.chrisavisartist.com