A BOSCOMBE man has won a prestigious opportunity to have his work showcased in an exhibit for all to admire.
Adilson Naueji met a woman called Maureen at the Boscombe bus station near the Sovereign Centre which led to the striking and perceptive portrait that won the first Lighthouse Open Call Exhibition.
The opening theme of the exhibition competition was ‘Life in Dorset’.
Adi was originally from Angola but moved to Boscombe with his wife and two children.
Adi said: “I met Maureen three years ago, not very long after I first started painting,” explains Adi.
“I had been to a workshop led by Mark Perry at BEAF in Boscombe and I asked him about how he chose his subjects for portraits.
“He told me to trust my eyes, so when I saw Maureen in the bus station as I was walking home I sat and chatted to her for a while then asked if I could take her picture and turn it into a portrait. She was a little surprised but she agreed.”
“We’d lost touch, but on the day of the festival, I saw Maureen completely by accident and took her to the painting.
"It was a bit of a shock for her, but she said she really liked it and we’ve been in touch a few times since then. She’s very pleased it is being shown at Lighthouse.”
“When I paint, I have to make the connection between people and the place they are in,” he says.
“Boscombe has been good to me. It’s where I feel safe and so does my family – we still live in the same house we came to six years ago.
“Some people say bad things about Boscombe, but they’re not the people who live there. It is a place of welcome with a vibrant, inclusive community. It’s my home.”
“Adi’s prize for winning the first Lighthouse Open Call is to present a solo exhibition – his first – at Lighthouse next year.”
The painting titled 'Maureen' is on show in Lighthouse Open Call Exhibition in the Gallery at Lighthouse until 11 May.
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