Face Off Exhibition

‘Face Off’ exhibition celebrates Black History Month 2005

A larger than life-sized portrait of Errol Romilly one of Havering’s leading carnival artists and a fascinating three dimensional portrait of the local artist, Terry Ffyffe, were unveiled at Fairkytes Arts Centre in Billet Lane, Hornchurch, on Monday October 3.

Councillor John Mylod, The Mayor of Havering and Councillor Patricia Mylod, Mayoress, unveiled the two portraits which were commissioned as part of Havering’s programme of activities to mark the international celebration of Black History Month.

Terry and Errol spent many hours visiting each other’s studios and making studies of each other’s faces. Each artist chose his preferred medium and created a unique portrait of the other.

The two artists were also interviewed in a magazine style and their responses are displayed beside the portraits.

Errol was born in the West Indies, supports the West Indies cricket team and came to Havering in 1986. Terry was born in Australia, supports the Australia cricket team and came to Havering in 1981. They both say their main reasons for choosing to live and work in Havering include Havering’s fresh air and nice people.

There are a number of Black History Month activities taking place in the borough this month including the visit of Baden Prince, the writer in residence for Havering libraries, who will be visiting Hornchurch Library on Wednesday October 12 at 7.30pm.

Baden will host a poetry evening promoting a collection of books by black poets and will be reading from the collection. Tickets priced at £2 each are available now from Hornchurch Library in North Street.

Councillor John Mylod, The Mayor of Havering, said: "This is an unusual and very successful way of celebrating Havering’s diverse community, and I would encourage as many people as possible to visit this fascinating exhibition."

The exhibition will be on display at Fairkytes Arts Centre throughout the month of October and admission is free.

For further information, call Fairkytes on 01708 456308.