STORY: :: More than 14,000 objects from British
hobbyists are on display at this UK exhibit
:: Hetain Patel, Exhibition curator
"As we put the nationwide call out, I think the thing that surprised me, as well as all the different hobbies coming in one, how many different hobbies there are." // "Sometimes it's people just squirreling away at home doing something, creating miniatures. You know, it's such a range."
:: London
:: July 17, 2024
"People almost every time don't value quite what they're doing. And they always say 'oh, you can exhibit my stuff if you think it's good enough'. And that's kind of heartbreaking. You know, you sort of, we don't see our own value sometimes. And even in the show, speaking to the hobbyists, people sometimes go 'oh, I feel like a bit of a fraud here. Everyone else's stuff is so good.' You have to tell them, you know, this is what people are saying about your work." // "You know, just because we choose to do it, even when no one's paying us or watching us or you think people don't care about it, we're doing it anyway. And I think that's just, what it says about us, is that we're complex."
Hand-crafted objects include cosplayer costumes, clay heads, miniature pottery, handmade patchwork quilts, and Patel's "Fiesta Transformer," a robot sculpture built by Patel and his father in 2013 from his first car, as well as his new artwork, titled "Somerset Road," a Ford Escort car tufted by Patel in the pattern of his grandmother's living room carpet.
The objects have been loaned by hundreds of people of all ages and backgrounds from across the country, who responded to a nationwide call to members of the public to share their free time interests and activities.
The exhibition, held in Croydon's Grants Building, opens on July 18 and runs through October 20.
