After months of hectic running around, work and other stresses of a day-to-day existence I finally hit the pause button and fled to the seclusion of my favourite fishing village. The aim was simple:- chill, relax, unwind, walk, and find my 'centre' again.
In this beautiful location, without a mobile phone signal, no internet connection, no phone in the cottage, no TV and an open fire fuelled heating system a tiny bit of my past came home.
I was fortunate enough to have 3 excellent art teachers at my time at secondary school, yet to this day I can only remember the name of one of those teachers. He was a male with wild curly hair and matching mustache, quite quiet as I recall. His art room was filled with pockets of light and artworks, which I had assumed were works of past students.
On a bright, autumnal day, as I walked past the art gallery in this little village, I saw a familiar face staring out from a poster in the window with the name underneath "David Mulholland". Curiously I entered the gallery and found pile of books all about this 'teacher'.
Sitting down with the book at home I was startled by how little I knew about him. He had wanted to be an artist from a young age, now in a harsh industrial area those with artistic talents aren't usually encouraged, but he was. By the 1970s he was living, and being exhibited, in London. However the draw of those heavy industrial sites surrounded by the beautiful and majestic countryside was too much, and he returned to Teesside where he took a job as an art teacher at a local school to support his family.
Throughout the book were images of paintings and sculptures I remember seeing in the classroom. In particular the piece "At The Dentist's" I recall being on a shelf as you entered his classroom. Other pieces made me realise that, subconsciously, his works may have had an impact on my own photographic style.
In 2005 David Mulholland passed away after a long struggle with throat cancer. Looking back through his work as an adult, and with a greater understanding of the man, I consider myself fortunate to have been taught by this talented artist and son of Teesside.
Now I intend to buy at least one of the prints of his work, it's just a shame that my favourite from the classroom isn't available.
For further information on David Mulholland see:
www.davidmulholland.co.uk
www.artsbank.co.uk
His work is on display at Dorman Museum, Middlesbrough until June 2013.
