The story behind the paintings
We wanted people’s real wishes to be heard.
Better Than Christmas began as a pilot art project in November 2008. Red wish boxes were left in pubs, shops and arts centres, while people were also invited face-to-face and online to answer one question: what did they really want?
- 1,000
- people asked
- 110
- wishes received
- 58
- works in this archive
The process
Six weeks of drawing other people’s hopes.
James Connelly and Leila Redpath worked solidly for around two months. James was drawn to material wishes and specific objects, painting in oil. Leila gravitated toward emotional wishes about relationships and loved ones, drawing with paint in a direct, linear style. There was plenty of crossover.
The finished works were exhibited at the Horsebridge Arts & Community Centre in Whitstable, Kent, in January 2009. Wishes that could not be painted in time were displayed in writing for visitors to read.
The project was never about art as a commodity. It placed personal experience first: an attempt to listen closely, enter somebody else’s imagination, and let them know their hope had been heard.
Enter the collection →