This exhibition features approximately 50 original illustrations and enlarged reproductions of artwork by artist Roberta Paladino (Robi) capturing the personalities and the essence of the people in the context of Hampstead Village in North London.
 
Echoing the tradition of “the flaneur” and Lauren Elkin’s reclaimed female contemporary “flaneuse”, this exhibition explores Robi’s practice as a keen people watcher and an avid observer of those around her, inspired by how people dress, act and go about their days. Since moving to London in 2018, Robi has spent a considerable amount of time in Hampstead, working, walking in the Heath, sitting at cafés, swimming at the Lido and inhabiting the area as a non-local. Over the years, she has illustrated people around her who she finds interesting, moved by lines, colour and her subjective quest of finding beauty in mundanity and the mise-en-scène of everyday life, these being the main engines of her passion as an illustrator, making her a true lover of people watching. Using illustration in different techniques, she has immersed herself in the fabric of “the village”, spending over 7 years producing work of the settings, scenes and the people she has encountered in her time in Hampstead; whether unassuming pedestrians, well recognised locals, coworkers or friends.
 
This exhibition is a display of the body of work she has accumulated in that period of time, exploring different pictorial techniques and evolving her practice as she has grown and developed as an independent illustrator and artist. All the work displayed, references and has to do with the area of Hampstead; chosen by the artist since first relocating to London as a “third space”, as conceived by urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg, for its streets, cafés and both the people she has met personally and those whom she just witnesses as they pass her by. As a result, a rare and interesting point of view of the bucolic north London postcode emerges through her gaze, acting as a visual testament of the personalities and everyday life of those who call and make NW3 (Hampstead) their stomping grounds.
 
The works displayed at this exhibition showcase a dialogue between the artist, her medium, process and her subjects making matters like subjectivity, representation and interpretation of the world into her own unique vision, showing once again how art and, in this case, illustration continues to be a vital practice to life and a means to understand, digest and mediate the realities we live in.
 
We look forward to welcoming you to the preview on Wednesday November 26th and for those unable to make that evening, the exhibited works will be on display until the end of Friday November 28th. 

Diego Fernandez Alvarez del Castillo
Curator