Garry Holt - first exhibition in an art gallery

Garry Holt: Good to Feel the Breeze of Fear Exhibition

The new Gallery One exhibition at Touchstones Rochdale is presented by local artist Garry Holt who started making collages during a time of ill health and has been making them prolifically ever since.

Garry started making collages during his treatment in the Floyd Neuro Rehabilitation Unit at Wardle, Rochdale. Having little art background he started creating artwork in very surreal circumstances. Suffering from a rare form of Motor Neurone Disease he lost the ability to walk unaided after a routine operation. He then needed specialist care and was transported to Wardle for further treatment. With the help of nurses, physios, occupational therapists, he reached his goal and after six months walked out of the hospital doors.

During his time in hospital Garry faced a number of struggles and found he was slipping into a state of depression. During this time he was advised to start ‘art therapy’ and very reluctantly took up the challenge after turning the practitioner away during their first session.

After a suggestion that he might like to work in the medium of collage, armed with magazines, that evening Garry made his first piece of art. From that moment on he could feel his mood picking up and found that it was a great way to channel and express his inner feelings.

After six months hard work in rehabilitation and as Garry he was leaving hospital he was told not to give up the art practice he had cultivated. “When the dark days did return, and they do, I turned to art. It’s helped me so much.”

Each of the pictures created by Garry use magazine cuttings to form a world of expression, “Every picture does have a story behind it.”

This is Garry’s first exhibition in an art gallery, “Just look what you can achieve if you believe in yourself.”

The exhibition is on display until 29 August 2015. Gallery One is the community gallery at Touchstones Rochdale and is dedicated to exhibitions by people and groups who live or work in the borough of Rochdale. The exhibitions in Gallery One are very varied, reflecting the range of interests and talent that exist in the borough. Proposals are welcome from individuals, groups and organisations and are reviewed and selected by an independent community panel.