La Boca - Toad

Toad was born in North Shields in 1949. She later excelled in drawing, painting, sewing/making clothes and writing, was offered a scholarship for Art College and set to have a promising future in whatever field she chose to explore. However, in the early seventies she was committed under section 26 to St George’s mental hospital for the ‘condition’ of identifying as lesbian. Over 2½ years later she was released back into society with irrevocable brain damage subsequent to electro convulsive therapy and diverse drug therapy for the ‘condition’. Although artistic endeavours have been a lot harder to accomplish, Toad has continued to explore many creative avenues including; set design, photography and various crafts. Currently living in Newcastle, she is in the process of completing her autobiographical trilogy ‘Course Through a Northern Collage’. Much positive feedback from major publishers has been forth-coming but the books are yet to be published. The illustrations exhibited are taken from the trilogy. Using the medium of metaphor, Toad’s work addresses emotive situations in life that are too painful to express in other ways.