By Dan Thompson
A new book by artist Chris Snow uses maps, pictures and words to tell the tale of growing up in Margate.
It follows themes of the sea and beach, a struggling town, the wonder of nature, art, and the artist Turner in Margate – in a time before the Turner gallery was even an idea.
The book will be launched with an exhibition at Lovelys Gallery, in Northdown Road, Cliftonville, which will include prints, maps and notebooks made as artwork for the book.
Chris has worked as an artist for over 20 years and Chris Packham said of his last book, It Started With The Starlings, “Love this book very much… it’s very clever and beautifully crafted. It’s a treasure.”
Chris’s new book On A Train Home With The Sun In My Eyes brings together some of his original Margate work with lots of new illustrations and prints.
He said: “It was a difficult time for Margate when I was young, as it still is for plenty of people, lots of shut shops and not much to do in town for teenagers.
“I love it but it can be quite a bleak place. I remember my dad, who had moved to Margate with my mum in the seventies and was always enthusing about Margate, telling me about the artist Turner and the amazing sunsets we are so lucky to see here. That opened my eyes a bit and I started looking at my hometown differently and connecting with it. I think that’s the first time I realised – art can happen here too.”
The book launch and exhibition will be on Saturday 15th November at Lovelys Gallery between 11am- 3pm, where Chris will be showing, signing and selling copies of On A Train Home With The Sun In My Eyes.
Chris describes his new book as, “A book of winter sunshine…full of maps, rhythms, words and pictures about a time when you’re young and rock pools are entire universes.
“It’s about Margate – the buildings, the people; your family, artists and writers who have called it home and how they still have an effect on people now. It’s about the beach and sea and the sky. It’s about an irrational fear of octopus too.”
More details about the book and the exhibition can be found at: mapsanddiagrams.co.uk
