Sophie Buss

In this piece, I have created an homage to some of those people who have inspired and encouraged the arts to thrive in Chichester. I wanted to focus on those who have been forgotten, are lesser known, or are simply unknown to most visitors. I grew up in West Sussex, visiting Chichester throughout my childhood and was continuously inspired by the graffiti art dotted around. This led to my eventual art studies and I now would like to commemorate the artists or promoters of arts in Chichester's past.

This textiles piece includes five hand carved linocut prints, pressed into a cotton calico fabric, each representing a different figure. Walter Hussey: a priest who collected art and Dean of Chichester Cathedral; Florence Johnson: an influential principal of Bishop Otter College (between 1919-1930); Sheila McCririck: Head of Art at Bishop Otter College (between 1949-1977); Lucienne Day: an incredible designer of post-war textiles who lived in Chichester in her last years; and 'Betty' Murray: Principal of Bishop Otter College (between 1948-1970) who created the Bishop Otter Art Collection with Sheila McCririck.

The absent hand in the centre is to represent a missing piece of history...the viewer is encouraged to gently place their hand in that space and to consider if they might be the next artist to excite Chichester.