Manager Georgina Carter Pickard approached artists Wadia Bout Aba and Paul McIntyre to paint and donate artwork to go on display in the Manvers Street shop.
They have celebrated the work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo famous for her many portraits and self-portraits and works inspirited by her country’s popular culture.
Frida employed a ‘naïve’ folk-art style to explore questions of identity, post colonialism, gender, class, and race in Mexican society.
Recommended reading:
Georgina said: “We wanted something colourful to base our spring launch and the famous artist was the suggested subject.”
Her paintings often had strong autobiographical elements and mixed realism with fantasy.
In addition to belonging to the post-revolutionary Mexicano movement, which sought to define a Mexican identity, Kahlo has been described as a surrealist or magical realist.
She is also known for painting about her experience of chronic pain.
Mercy in Action was never planned, but came about after local founders John and Allison Todd had an unexpected encounter with five street boys during a trip to the Philippines in 1995.
The boys hadn’t eaten for three days and were begging on the streets.
Moved by the plight of children the same age as their son, John and Allison took them for a meal of chicken and rice.
