Inverness artist puts coronavirus lockdown time to good use
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AN Inverness artist and college lecturer was "like a hermit" in his city flat creating pandemic lockdown works after becoming stranded away from his Glasgow studio.
The results are a series of paintings by fine artist Frank To covering political and social issues, including the covid pandemic.
Mr To said that finding himself isolated from Inverness College where he lectures, and his studio in Glasgow, he had to improvise. And he had a message for his fellow artists.
"I actually did exceptionally well with an art support initiative created by my old lecturer from art school called the Artist Support Pledge," he said.
"I took on political/ social issues with my art such as the Hong Kong protests, the Humanium Metal Disarmament Day, and racism against the Chinese due to Covid-19."
Mr To also had a pop at what he saw as the UK Government's incompetence in dealing with the pandemic.
Mr To revealed he is to embark on a project that will use a unique mixture of paint and metal powder from ground down illegal guns.
He added: "I am proud to announce that I will be the first artist ever in history to combine Humanium, the alloy powder from ground down guns, with paint creating a unique medium and colour.
"I will be working in collaboration with IM Swedish Development Partner on the Humanium Metal Initiative, an international peace project collecting illegal firearms from countries affected by gun violence and melting them to produce the new Humanium alloy."
He added that any profits from artwork sold will be used to help those affected by gun violence or the pandemic.
Mr To said: "Finally, peace can be visualised."
The Artist Support Pledge was formed to help artists affected by the economic downturn. The online marketplace is the brainchild of Sussex-based artist Matthew Burrows. Artists who commit to the pledge will post images of a work that's for sale, for no more than £200, and each time their sales reach £1,000 they promise to buy another artist's work for £200.
