A new exhibition from a renowned disabled artist will explore a mother’s personal journey of grief since the death of her son due to a drug overdose. Alison Lapper’s powerful exhibition "Lost in Parys" will open at Worthing Museum later this month and promises a raw, unfiltered expression of her grief through paint and media. Alison is a recipient of an MBE for her services to art and a leading member of the Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists of the World (AMFPA).
Marc Quinn's Alison Lapper Pregnant (Image: The Argus) She came to wider public attention with her collaboration with sculptor Marc Quinn, at a time when she was pregnant with her son Parys, which resulted in the statue Alison Lapper Pregnant. This work sat atop the Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square from 2005 to 2007. She also appeared with Parys on the BBC docuseries Child Of Our Time from 2000.
Parys died at the age of 19 on August 23, 2019, from an accidental drug overdose. Alison Lapper (Image: Alison Lapper) “I'm Lost in Parys,” said Alison. “It’s a loss that has rearranged my world, watching him fade away in front of my eyes because of the effects of addiction and mental health .
It is a death that has changed how I see everything, a grief that has torn everything down and an unbearable pain that leaves me vulnerable, navigating my feelings through my work.” A variety of paintings of her beloved son will be on show at the museum in her hometown of Worthing as well as a series of new p.
