Artist raising funds to remember a year of adversity.
Renowned sculptor Nic Joly has unveiled his latest work, created to help raise much-needed funds for NHS charities. The limited edition piece, which will go on display at Castle Fine Art galleries across the UK, is called We Can Be Heroes, and carries the message ‘Who Cares Wins’; a play on words of the famous SAS motto Who Dares Wins.
Nic, who put his time in lockdown to good use making plastic visors for critical workers, says this opened his eyes to the bravery of those people, and their true heroism in battling on all of our behalves. He explains: “We are all doing our part to face this global challenge, but our health workers and key workers have really shown us how extraordinary they are – 
they are like the SAS of care. I had the idea that if you change just one letter of the SAS motto the phrase becomes something new, something that embodies the sentiment of how I believe we all feel. Who Cares Wins instead of Who Dares Wins.”
£100 from the sale of each edition – the full edition size being 2,020, to serve as a reminder of the community spirit that was born from our shared adversity this year – will be split between The Murray Parish Trust and NHS Charities Together. The Murray Parish Trust was set up by Sarah Parish and Jim Murray in memory of their late daughter Ella-Jayne and is dedicated to the advancement of paediatric emergency medicine, and NHS Charities Together is the umbrella body for 240 NHS charities across the country which are supporting NHS staff, volunteers and patients as they tackle the Covid crisis.
Nic was moved to use his art for fundraising after his experience of delivering the visors to healthcare gave him an insight into what they were facing. He comments: “The stories that these amazing people told of their everyday work were eye-opening. These people were real heroes, they didn’t want praise; they were just doing their job, caring for us all quietly on the front line. It was then that the idea to create an edition to support these wonderful people was born.”
Nic is known for his own unique style, creating tiny figurines made from wire, paper and clay, and has recently turned his hand to LED technology, 3D printing and typography. His #WhoCaresWins project draws on all of these exceptional talents.
Ian Weatherby-Blythe, Group Managing Director at Castle Fine Art, said: “We are so pleased to be working with Nic Joly on this fantastic limited edition piece. It really does commemorate this extraordinary year and reminds us all of the amazing work that our key workers and front-line heroes did, and are still doing, for the UK. The piece, ‘We Can Be Heroes’, demonstrates the support and compassion that was shown across our country and I look forward to seeing it showcased in our galleries for all to see.”
We Can Be Heroes is available to pre-order from Monday 12th October and is priced at £995 framed, with £100 from each sale donated to be split between the two charities. For more details visit www.castlefineart.com.
