Etaoin Shrdlu: Trust showcases unique exhibition on vanished civilisation

Last month, we hosted a new art exhibition at the Tavistock Centre titled Etaoin Shrdlu. Richard Frost’s Etaoin Shrdlu is a collection of over 20 works in ink on paper, presenting a visual history of a vanished civilisation.

“This lost civilisation is a fiction, a creation of mine. I combined my interests in calligraphy and cave painting, and created this figurative calligraphic semi-abstract human figures based on cave art” commented Richard.

He continued to state that he has “always been interested in the kind of artwork that’s not exhibited in the galleries. Cave painting, outsider art, art made by inpatients, inmates.”

The work exhibited reflects Richard’s desire for anonymity as an artist. “I like the idea of the artwork being centre stage, and my name and personality not part of it.” He explained how this elusiveness is also a way of “masking and hiding [his] insecurities.”

Richard trained as an art therapist and most of his work was with marginalized and hard-to-reach groups. “I was facilitating them in making their own art to support them in their growth and recovery. I did my art in my spare time, for my own satisfaction. After a few years, I realized that I had created all these images… Someone put me in touch with the Tavistock [and Portman Trust] and here we are.”

The extended interview: Etaoin Shrdlu by Richard Frost – New Exhibition at the Tavistock Centre – @matuklon