Lorna Cassidy: Around Town
A memorable touring art exhibition featuring local scenes by a remarkable artist
This exhibition celebrates Lorna’s work and the lady herself by taking over a dozen of her works to 4 different venues that she has a connection to, whilst also raising awareness of her illness, being in the later stages of onset dementia.
Where & When?
Friday 6th June & Saturday 7th – 11am – 4pm
Tuesday 10th & Wednesday 11th – 10am – 4pm
Saturday 14th – Monday 16th & Saturday 21st – Sunday 22nd – 11am – 4pm
Saturday 28th 3pm-6pm (Please note; this event is NOT open to the general public)
About the artist:
Lorna Cassidy’s acclaimed prints & drawings have appeared in numerous exhibitions and publications over the years; She has many works in the collections of the Discover Bucks County museum, and Wycombe Museum, which also has her portrait hanging on the wall.
Born 1934, she studied Printmaking at Wycombe Art School between 1950 and ’54, specialising in Etchings and Aquatints – time-consuming, intentional processes that read with the energy of drawing, coupled with subtle & muted Turner-esque colourways; the drawings are engraved painstakingly into the metal plates before being put onto the press. She was one of the first artists to exhibit in Wycombe Library when it was built in 1959.
Lorna was fascinated with her surroundings, inspired by fellow artist Winifred Peeler. Her landscapes increasingly documented change, especially the demolition of areas & buildings that she had grown up with, chronicling the march of ‘progress’. Alongside this was interest in Wycombe Society, joining campaigners like her friend Frances Alexander in environmental and often political sojourns, for example when the original Pann Mill was demolished to allow widening of the London Road, the clearing of Newlands and building The Octagon (Wycombe’s original shopping mall, now part of Eden), and the transformation of the historic Parker Knoll furniture factory in Temple End into a supermarket & car park.
Whilst being a mother to 3 boys, her artworks continued and were often used as illustrations, and she wrote several historic texts such as ‘Discovering High Wycombe’ (published 1970) and poetic text such as in ’25 years in High Wycombe’ (published 1977).
Her book ’50 Years’, which contains a wealth of her works, was put together in 1999 for the Millenium Exhibition at Wycombe Museum. Lorna continued cycling everywhere and as she reached her 70’s her documentation shifted focus to photography.
There was a succesful mini-retrospective of her work at Wycombe Arts Centre in 2019, but she had just been diagnosed with onset Dementia, and after Covid she moved to Rye View Manor Care Home- a location close to her heart, where she resides today.
About Dementia:
Dementia is a term for several diseases that affect the brain’s cognitive function; that is, memory, thinking, behaviour, motivation, and the ability to perform everyday activities. This in turn affects emotions and leads to confusion and frustration.
It mainly affects older people, but not all people will get it as they age. The illness gets worse over time.
Dementia has physical, psychological, social and economic impacts, not only for people living with it, but also for their families, friends, carers, and society at large. There is often a lack of awareness and understanding of dementia, resulting in stigmatization and barriers to diagnosis and care.
Lorna’s artwork was used on the walls of Shrublands, an NHS facility in Wycombe specialising in diagnosis & treatment of mental health issues in older people.
There is lots of support out there from places like:
Dementia UK And locally from Wycombe District Dementia Action.
Please feel free to download or share our flyer below.
