‘Portraits’ Exhibition at Shape
Shape is currently exhibiting the portraits of Tanya Raabe, alongside examples of the work from the artists she paints. The six portraits are taken from Tanya’s Who’S WhO project, which focused on defining the faces of the Disability Arts Movement.
Combining oil painting and multimedia portraits, Who’S WhO allowed Tanya to challenge the traditional notion of portraiture using her experience and knowledge of the Disability Arts world. 
Works chosen for the ‘Portraits’ exhibition include paintings of and work by: Dr Paul Darke, Mat Fraser, Colin Hambrook, Julie McNamara, Allan Sutherland and Shape’s own Chief Executive Tony Heaton.
‘Portraits’ was officially opened at Shape’s Kentish Town office by Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery on Thursday 12th November.
Sandy said “Portraiture is a creative field in which images of ourselves and others are defined by artists and photographers. This is a fascinating exhibition which extends the idea of the portrait in the context of the Disability Arts Movement”.
Tanya’s work introduces us to some of the trail blazers of the Disability Arts Movement, and gives us the opportunity to better understand the Movement’s role in the wider Disability Rights struggle. It’s a celebration of an important, if often overlooked, artistic history”.
‘Portraits’ is just one of a programme of exhibitions hosted by Shape at our accessible exhibition space in Camden. Our aim is to increase the profile of disabled artists by showcasing their work, and encouraging critical debates.
From 13 November until 29 January the exhibition can be viewed by appointment, please contact Ben Fredericks on benf@shapearts.org.uk or phone 020 7424 7363.
The ‘Portraits’ Exhibition 2009 catalogue
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To find out more about the other artists in the exhibition, please follow the links below:
Dr Paul Darke (www.outside-centre.com)
Mat Fraser (www.matfraser.co.uk)
Colin Hambrook (www.disabilityarts.org)
Tony Heaton (www.tonyheaton.co.uk)
Julie McNamara (www.juliemc.com)
Allan Sutherland (www.learfoundation.org.uk)
For more information about Tanya Raabe…
Tanya’s work is based on and about images of herself and others in environments that are dominated by a society obsessed with physical beauty and perfection. She works with the notion that her own self-image and identity changes depending on what situation she is in, what environment she is in and how this influences the experiences of the human condition.
Tanya’s art uses the visual language of paint and digital technologies to depict the fundamental ideologies of a disability self. She creates images that use myth against reality juxtaposing these ideologies to evoke challenging images of beauty that is an integral part of a contemporary society.
Tanya says, “As I evolve and develop my art work I find myself battling between traditional oil/acrylic painting and ever evolving digital technologies. I am interested in finding ways of combining traditional with contemporary visual languages that challenge the viewers’ perception of what they think they are seeing.”
