This drawing is part of an extraordinary series of portraits Kristin Stephenson made of her husband Steve Hollis between 2002 and 2004. He was suffering from vascular dementia, a degenerative illness, and early on they made a pact together that she would document his decline (a keen supporter of her work, he had always enjoyed being drawn). The Close works convey a complex mix of tenderness, humour and grief. Kristin moves beyond pure description, using a variety of techniques and textures to create an image that suggests both Steve’s shifting sense of self and the gradual erasure of the familiar.

(Perilous: Unheard Stories from the Collection, 6 August 2022-21 July 2024 )

One of three large charcoal drawings (from part of a series entitled Close), depicting the artist's husband Steve. This series of work is a journey around the intimacy of Hollis's relationship with Steve, who is suffering from a degenerative illness. Rather than simply being a 'portrait project' the drawings document the dialogue/communication between them and the physical and psychological changes happening to him. He is not drawn all in the same way, the artist being 'obsessed' with drawing, explores a larger tradition and experiments with different techniques. The title of the exhibition indicates physical nearness as well as psychological closeness as well as the changes happening to Steve, revealed through the close focus of the face. As the artist says " What is happening to us is really it. Because Steve is not well, my doing this project brings into question the issue of that fine line between empathy and exposure. I did the drawings for both of us, and the viewer - to honour people by treating them honestly, letting them into your life".