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North London artist brings together 17 creatives for Hampstead Heath show
Lisa Swerling had a wish list of artists she wanted to work with for this unique show about her favourite place in London
According to miniatures artist Lisa Swerling, Hampstead Heath is the best thing about north London. The former JFS student lived in California for 12 years “so you’d think that would knock Hampstead Heath off the top of the list of wild places in my heart,” she says.
“But now I live in Tufnell Park, and I love that it’s so close to the Heath. It’s such an important place for people – not just in their hearts and in their lifestyle, but in keeping them sane.”
Lisa, who has been making miniature worlds in boxes called glass cathedrals for over 20 years, decided to organise a group art show, partly to engage more with other artists, and partly because she loves art. “I have artist ‘crushes’ who I would love to work with, and so I had to think what would draw these artists together? And the answer was Hampstead Heath,” she explains.
The result is Heathbound, a show at Burgh House,featuring 17 artists including children’s author Lauren Child, Crouch End-based ‘chewing gum artist’ Ben Wilson, well-known Hampstead painter Vanessa Brassey and several others who had never even been to the Heath before but rose to the challenge.
Of her own work, Lisa says she chanced upon the miniatures format to express her ideas about being a tiny little human on a big planet. “I create scenes with little figures inside these boxes. I’ve made thousands of them, and I not only express my own ideas, but I also capture for other people their memories and their most precious relationships.” Some of these will be at the show and Lisa has also made 60 miniatures in glass domes.
“There’s something so charmingly local about Hampstead Heath, and that creates a certain atmosphere around people’s feelings about being at the show,” says Lisa. “It’s not just that we appreciate it, because every time we go for a walk on the Heath, we feel blessed, but at the show we’re seeing it through artists’ eyes as well, and there’s something magical and otherworldly about that.”
The show, which is free to enter, features oil paintings, screen prints, embroidery, miniatures, photography, papercutting and sculptures, each capturing a different view of the Heath.
All the works are for sale, at a range of price points. “I wanted it to be truly affordable and for just £25 people can take away a bit of Heath art with them,” says Lisa. “It’s always a stretch to spend upwards of £500 on art. But if it’s something that you will that will remind you of something you love in your life and transport you almost to the feeling that you have when you’re on the Heath, what price do you put on that?
Heathbound is at Burgh House, Hampstead until 27 September. Opening hours: Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday: 10am–4pm and Friday: 10am–1pm. Entry is free. heathbound.com
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