Dickson Kaloki is an international artist who works in oil but also mixed media. He has exhibited in the UK, Europe and is due to exhibit at the Kenyan Museum.

Born in Kitui, eastern Kenya, Dickson began studying interior design at Buruburu College and after four years working as a freelance interior designer he began learning about films and production design. As such he worked on numerous film and advert productions whilst teaching art part-time.

His painting style and technique has evolved over time, and his life experiences, the places he has lived and the people he has met have influenced his work greatly. He prefers to produce work that involves the now, his present life and experiences rather than working from his imagination.

In this series of work, Dickson's love of faces and painting them is his joy. He frees himself when painting portraits and loses himself during the process. That is the playing with different colours, shapes and strokes. The different expressions on all faces fascinate him because as he says: “I believe we are all unique and special, but yet we are all one race, regardless of our appearance.”
 

As a mixed media painter and installation artist, South African born Lindsay Terhorst North explores issues of identity, displacement and personal meaning. Her Eve in Exile series of work was inspired by the stories her grandmother shared of her time interned in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Indonesia during World War II. She states:

“For the Under the Radar Kingston exhibition I will not only exhibit a selection of the Eve in Exile installation that was shortlisted for an award last year highlighting the strength and bravery endured by the women interned in the prisoner of-war-camp, but also the complete series of paintings, introducing the final phase “Eve’s Soul” – a triptych.

My paintings have always been influenced by the subject of trees as they weather the elements and yet hide the secrets of their past. Throughout this series, it was important for me to interpret the conceptual depths of trees: applying grit and ink to the canvas, adding bark, layering it to reflect the visible marks one can endure. And, by introducing the photographic images of the top layers of the tree, I deliberately wanted to expose the edges inferring that in life we hide our pain, our scars, our suffering from view; reinforcing that we are more than skin deep.

I wanted to add that the silver birch bark signifies resilience, renewal and regeneration. But equally important is how the fusion of natural and synthetic materials provides a somewhat paradoxical view; reminiscent of the visual threads of the 'post-internet' movement. By using digital, photographical references they reflect parallels between our freedom now and before.”
 

International artist, Susana Bravo, is a figurative oil painter, who enjoys creating art using mixed media – collages, dry pastels, oils, charcoals, water colours, ink drawings and ad hoc memorabilia. Her focus is predominantly connecting factual and fictional female characters as her central plot line.Susana's paintings are an explosion of colour, objects and scenes. They define and yet do not commit you to any preconceived ideas. There is, however, a feeling of inevitability about the outcome, which is prevalent across her paintings and begs the question: what are we witnessing? There is no doubting the impact of her images and why her prominence as a gifted painter is growing worldwide.

Susana is based in Portugal and has been developing her practice for over 30 years. She studied sculpture, painting and other art forms in locations including: Mexico City, London, Lisbon, and in her own city of Porto. Susana’s love of diverse cultures helps to mould her art.

Despite always wanting to be an artist, Susana began her career in fashion design. But, her true passion for art led her to complete a fine art degree at the prestigious Escola Superior Artística do Porto. Since then, in addition to an impressive and varied series of solo shows in Portugal and Brazil as well as joint exhibitions in Spain, Argentina, Mexico, France and the UK; Susana has taught art, worked in galleries and museums, curated exhibitions and facilitated workshops. Plus she has been a member of a panel of judges for the architectural competition, Porta HUB.

In 2015 she participated in two group exhibitions in London; a solo exhibition in Brazil; artist in residence in both London and in Portugal; and was awarded a commendation for one of her paintings at the Carmen Miranda Art Awards presentation in Portugal. During 2016 she is set to continue her emerging international growth by participating in a couple of projects.