Art - Art Trail

“I’ve always wondered why the Art Trail starts on the August Bank Holiday” says artist Ness Newman, one of the driving forces behind the town’s first winter version of the event, which sees 31 venues, with 160 plus ‘artists and makers’ exhibiting over the weekend, in and around Lewes. “Firstly, a lot of people are on holiday, and secondly it’s a time when they don’t have much money to spare because if they are back from that holiday they’ve just spent it, and they’ve got to buy all their kids stuff for school. Just before Christmas is a far better idea, because people are on the lookout for presents and this is a good opportunity to buy something original.”

Ness’ own stuff, which you can see at 12 Mount Pleasant, is certainly original, as you may have seen in previous (summer) art trails. Co-promoter Robert Shepherd calls it ‘pop art with a bleeding edge’; one of the pieces used to promote the trail is a stylised painting of a red stiletto with blood dripping onto the floor down the heel. “It’s called ‘bloody shoes’ and it’s to do with the menstrual cycle and giving birth,” she says, frankly enough. “And it’s also a pun on the word ‘bloody’, because women’s shoes can be bloody uncomfortable.” Ness does ‘mainly shoes’ (usually stilettos but also platform heels) but also a line in Barbie dolls. “They are mixed media: collages and photocopies of photos. I add beads, jewels and glitter and paint over features like eyes and lips. There’s always a bit of glam involved.” She is exhibiting with four more artists, hand-picked to complement one another, and including Pearl Bates (who did the cover of the first Viva Lewes Handbook), Sarah Ffitch-Hayes, Emily Morgan and Jay and Jennie Harries.