A Frome man has won first place in the visual arts section of an international competition aimed to raise awareness of rare diseases, held by the National Centre of Rare Diseases in Rome.
The competition, named ‘The Flight of Pegasus (IL Volo Di Pegaso)’ has been running annually since 2008 and aims to provide expressive spaces to all people who, in various ways, face rare diseases or wish to learn more about these disorders.
Roger Hammersley, who lives in Frome, does not have a rare disease but says he has an interest in the diagnosis and therapy of rare diseases and entered the competition after being prompted by a friend who had entered previously.
The theme for this year’s competition was ‘peace’ which made Roger think back to a photo he had taken of Piet Oudolf’s field at the Hauser and Wirth gallery in Bruton. The accompanying caption with the photo reads, “The imaginative planting presents a wonderful collage of colour, both vibrant and peaceful, lifting the soul to a higher sphere.
“The predominant contrast is between the livid blue-grey globe thistles, representing resilience overcoming adversity, and the reddish brown helenium symbolizing tenderness and tears; a tableau embodying both the microscopic beauty of rare diseases and of hope in shortening the diagnostic odyssey.”
Speaking to Frome Times about winning the competition, Roger said, “I was bowled over! Although I knew I had been shortlisted, I never expected to win the award. The first part of the ceremony was devoted to speeches from various specialists in their own areas of expertise and it wasn’t until the second hour when Dr Annalisa Scopinaro (president of the Italian Federation of Rare Diseases UNIAMO) accepted the award on my behalf that I knew I had won.
“Coming from a family of artists (my brother was a graphic designer, and my father was a medical artist), I have always had a keen interest in visual art and design. I remember first taking photographs at the age of eight or nine, 55 years ago, using a 1940’s Kodak 620 folding roll film camera fitted with a bellow lens and flip up viewfinder! Since then, I’ve moved on to digital photography.
“I visited Hauser and Wirth during the Henry Moore exhibition in September 2022 and was told by friends that the gardens were a must see. I was not disappointed and took a few photographs of Oudolf’s field. When I discovered the theme of the Flight of Pegasus competition was peace, I immediately thought back to the photograph of the field and entered this in the visual art category.
“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the ceremony in Rome in person due to work commitments, but I was able to view the proceedings live and was delighted to find out my photograph had won first prize!”
Roger was given a commemorative plaque to honour his achievement, and his photo, called ‘Hope Springs Eternal’ can be found alongside the other winning entries on the virtual exhibition website which can be found at:
https://www.iss.it/en/health-humanities
