‘Surreal Estates’ showcases creative talents of South West’s children and young people

‘Surreal Estates’ has been delivered in partnership between The Box and Arts University Plymouth. It connects with the ‘Forbidden Territories: 100 Years of Surreal Landscapes’ exhibition which is currently wowing audiences at The Box (until 7 September) and which features a wide range of work by some of the most influential artistic and literary figures of the 1900s.

‘Surreal Estates’ encouraged children and young people from Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset to submit work in any medium as long as it used a surrealist technique such as collage or photomontage. Entries were open in four different categories: Early Years, Primary, Secondary and 18-25.

Three-year-old Leo Simo from Elburton, Plymstock was the winner in the Early Years category. A keen drawer, he created a colourful painting of his garden by mixing the paints with his hands.

11-year-old Ebren French who is currently a pupil at Fourlanesend School near Cawsand, Cornwall was successful in the Primary category with her collage titled ‘Millbrook Lake and More’. Ebren used a variety of techniques to create her work and also took inspiration from Salvador Dali, whose painting ‘Mountain Lake’ painting can be seen in the ‘Forbidden Territories’ exhibition.

16-year-old Emily Downer who comes from St Austell, Cornwall and currently attends Callywith College, Bodmin was ‘surprised and excited’ to discover she had won the Secondary category with her painting. It’s titled ‘Pig’ after her pet dog and, like a number of works in the ‘Forbidden Territories’ exhibition, features a figure that combines both animal and human characteristics.

Salwa Kamali, who lives in Plymouth, triumphed in the 18-25 year category with her dreamlike photograph titled ‘For Sale: Self-Worth’. The image was taken under a tyre swing in a local park and features one her friends with their face covered in stickers. In a similar approach to a number of surrealist artists from the past and present, the image takes something familiar linked to childhood and gives it an uncanny twist.

The four winners were selected by a judging panel consisting of Rebecca Bridgman, Head of Collections and Programme at The Box, Tony Davey, Engagement Officer at The Box and Paul Fieldsend-Danks, Vice Chancellor of Arts University Plymouth.

They’re now taking centre stage in one of the first floor galleries at The Box until the end of Sunday 7 September, alongside the other entries to the competition and a selection of ‘Highly Commended’ works by Arlo Argent and Mila Stolarska-Clark (Early Years), Juliette and Charlotte Barrett and Hope Bates (Primary), Tosin Osibini and River Markland (Secondary) and Louis Perry and Tegan Churchill (18-25).

The display includes additional insights from Leo, Ebren, Emily and Salwa, a small selection of surrealist works on loan from Falmouth Art Gallery by Eileen Agar, Lee Miller and Roland Penrose and a work by Cecil Collins from The Box’s art collection.