May Day in NYC with artist Oona Hassim

Oona Hassim is a London based artist who exhibits her work with Woolff Gallery, London. We have known each other for a few years now & I absolutely love her work. 

Oona is a very talented painter who won a scholarship from St Martins, she focuses on crowds & the way they pass through the city. Her recent work has observed the demonstrations and marches which took place throughout London last year, she looks at the way in which these crowds are restrained and the way that they can never move freely due to marshaling and the police.

Oona was painting in New York, and whilst there it happened to be May Day so I accompanied her on the May Day rallies. We started our day in Williamsburg, and walked over the bridge into Manhattan, I was quite nervous due to the fact that the bridge walkway was caged-in. Having experienced 'kettling' in London I had a fear that the police would trap us and hold us until the end of the day which would have meant the end of Oona's drawings of the demos. Luckily my fears did not materialise & the demonstration continued peacefully through the city until it ended up in Union square. Here are a few pictures of the day, including a couple of shots of Oona's drawings that she will take back to London and use as the basis for her incredible oil paintings.

Police in Williamsburg

The small crowd in Williamsburg

The march over Williamsburg Bridge

We jumped ahead of the crowd...

The police lead the way!

Oona was jumping up onto the bridge's vantage points - just a step up, or hanging off part of the railing to get a better of a view of the crowd - we were firmly told to "Get down, or you'll be off too", by the police - meaning we would join the recently arrested protestors if we didn't play by the rules... And we marched on to Union Square.

Union Square

We found a 1st floor window where we had a great view of the crowd. Oona had to make a guerilla style sketch here as we were not really supposed to be there, despite the time constraints, it was still an amazing drawing!

Oona's 10min sketch of Union Square

This just shows how talented this artist is! Honestly - 10mins... Exceptional.

Colourful crowds in Union Square

Occupy's balloon camera

I loved this! What a beautiful way to make a film... The Occupy group were filming the protest using a colourful bunch of balloons with a film camera hanging underneath. It hovered above the crowd, just keeping an eye on things.

The police in Union Square

The police haven't utilised quite such a beautiful way of observing the crowds... 

Our view over Union Square

Oona's sketch of Union Sqaure

Being with Oona makes you view crowds differently. You see them more as a mass rather than as individuals. You feel the power of the crowd as if it were one animal. You watch the way that the crowd flows, as if it were a river of people running through the city... There is an engulfing feeling that you experience when you are in the middle of a demonstration, or on the other hand the celebratory feeling & party like atmosphere. Oona is passionate about getting this across within her work.

I think its amazing that someone is out there, doing this. There are 100's of photographers (which is good as it can make things safer) but only one girl drawing with her pastels & sketchbook. Its the way that news was reported to us in the old days, through drawings and paintings, but due to the camera & technological advances it is no-longer necessary. Oona is a true artist, capturing these historical events in a timeless medium.

Oona's work can be seen at: http://www.woolffgallery.co.uk/

A short film of her drawing at Occupy London can be viewed by clicking this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-IJ1I75ZIs&context=C3a6c3bcADOEgsToPDskLwb4uZY4uY4OAHa9Kkw2tH&noredirect=1 

Union Square 1st may 2012