Stillness unites with high energy (From Watford Observer)

Stillness unites with high energy

9:53am Thursday 18th March 2010 in

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THE passion and energy of salsa dancing meets the calmness of yoga at an art exhibition taking place at Forty Hall this month.

Bodies in Motion was the idea of Potters Bar artist Jane Kerr Wood, who is exhibiting alongside her friend Pauline Hazelwood from Southgate. Jane’s work is all about yoga and the more spiritual side of getting fit, and she wanted to hold an exhibition that focused on bodies and movement, having observed the poses people made in yoga classes.

“I used to be a regular in yoga classes. I’ve been doing it on and off since I was eight,” she says. “When you’re in a studio and there’s 20-odd people and they’re deeply concentrating and getting into similar positions, what I noticed was it’s hard to hold those poses. I thought this is really powerful stuff.”

Jane runs art classes in Potters Bar and St Albans, while Pauline, also an art tutor, was shortlisted for the BP portrait award in 2008, which led to her work hanging in the National Portrait Gallery. The two met in a gallery, “how else do artists meet”, Jane says, in Enfield in 2007 and have been friends since.

“Pauline likes salsa dancing,” Jane adds. “I’d got the idea for the exhibition and we were talking about how to make it work for a show. In salsa, you’re moving fast so you’re trying to get movement by blurring.”

Jane says her own work is more about about power and holding a pose.

“The three main big paintings I’ve done for the show have strong poses,” she says. “If you have a picture with people with their arms in the air it’s inspiring.”

As well as depictions of people doing yoga and salsa dancing there are other works on show, ranging from the debut of Jane’s new cartoon characters Roxy Rabbit and her pal Bella Bunny doing yoga, through to a nude backside.

“We’re both very versatile in terms of our styles,” says Jane. “There’s something for everyone.”

Bodies in Motion is at Forty Hall, Forty Hill, Enfield, until Sunday, March 28. Details: www.kwsart.com