Jemma Powell by Cricket Fine Art Ltd

JEMMA P OWELL

Tusk Trust Tusk’s vision is simple – a future in which people and wildlife can both thrive across Africa. Since 1990 the charity has enabled and accelerated conservation efforts across Africa investing over £120m into conservation, education and community livelihoods programmes spanning the continent.

CRICKET FINE ART LONDON

The charity currently supports the work of 80 conservation initiatives, increasing vital protection for over 50 million hectares of land and more than 40 threatened species. From iconic savannah-wandering elephant and wild dog to elusive forestdwelling okapi and mountain gorilla, Tusk invests in targeted efforts to bring Africa’s endangered species back from the brink of extinction.

Presents an exhibition of paintings at

A woman stands with her hands on her lower back, her head tilted towards a little girl, who is cradling a lamb in her arms. There is another lamb between them – perhaps the woman has set it down for a moment’s rest, to relieve her aching limbs. The soft focus, a haze of dusty yellow, suggests a transitional time of day – dusk perhaps when the light has deepened, become less startling – with only smudges of blue indicating the rough outline of the door of a house, an upper storey window behind them.

Funding is applied through four parallel funds: the longstanding Tusk Fund, which invests in the high impact work of the core portfolio of partners; the Ranger Fund, which supports the employment, training and welfare of rangers across Africa; the Tusk Awards, instigated by the charity’s royal patron, The Prince of Wales, which recognise the work of ‘unsung’ conservationists; and the new Collaboration Fund, which acts as a catalyst for joint ventures and innovative solutions. This unique blend of support is further enhanced with the biennial Tusk Conservation Symposium and thought leadership work.

Southrop Manor Estate, Gloucestershire GL7 3NX

In many ways, the painting Little Girl and her Lambs by Jemma Powell depicts an everyday scene. It is one that feels familiar if not from our own lived experiences then from photographs, but painted in quick, gestural brushstrokes, the image, like many of Powell’s paintings, becomes wavering and dream-like. The two figures are sharpest in detail and yet even they appear at risk from fading into memory, pure colour.

Sustainable conservation requires local solutions, expertise and engagement. Through its partners on the ground, Tusk seeks to use conservation as a powerful tool to create jobs, support education and improve livelihoods. Indeed, the current portfolio benefits over 10 million people across 23 countries and Tusk’s environmental education programme, PACE, reaches 600,000 students across 34 countries.

This latest body of work is, for Powell, something of a sensory diary, each composition a recording of a precise moment in time, a specific observation, and a feeling. The paintings are the result of a trip to Kenya, with her mother, Lucy Powell, who is also a painter – some were produced in situ, others back home in Oxfordshire, drawing from photographs, sketches and memories. The more abstract of the series – In the Light of the Moon, Hippo in Meru, Undergrowth in the Ngare Ndare Forest – capture an intensity of colour and an almost overwhelming rush of different forms that describe a newness of experience, a sense of excitement and bewilderment, but there is also a slow tenderness to many of the scenes: they depict families, social gatherings, moments of quiet intimacy.

Charlie Mayhew OBE

Jemma Powell in Lewa, Kenya

Charlie Mayhew with a rhino calf orphan at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, Kenya

Hoopoe

Oil on linen canvas 76 × 102 cm

Oil on board 50 × 40 cm

£4,750

£1,950

JEMMA POWELL 6 – 8pm

Digital editor of Apollo Magazine

The Golden Thread

With grateful thanks to Caryn Hibbert and Thyme

Thursday 9th November

Millie Walton

back cover

25% of all sales donated to Tusk Trust

THE GOLDEN THRE AD

This, for Powell, is the ‘golden thread’, a term inspired by an essay by Caryn Hibbert, the founder of Thyme, that refers to the invisible line that traverses not just geographical, cultural and temporal boundaries, but also boundaries of species to connect us all – people, animals, our environments. Simply put, it is the pulse of living.

front cover

THYME

Exhibition dates: 10 th November 2023 - 7 th January 2024

Paintings are for sale on receipt of this catalogue The entire exhibition can be viewed online at www.cricketfineart.co.uk

Boats in Lamu

Wo m e n o n t h e B e a c h

Oil on board 76 × 102 cm

£4,750

£4,750 3

M a a s a i Tr i b e Oil on linen canvas 94 × 146 cm £7,200

In the Light of the Moon Oil on board 76 × 102 cm £4,750

Mother and Daughter in the Market Oil on board 102 × 76 cm £4,750

Little Girl and her Lambs

At the End of the Day

Oil on board 76 × 52 cm

£3,200

Simba

Elephant in Lewa

Oil on board 76 × 102 cm

Oil on board 51 × 76 cm

£4,750

£3,200

Fr u i t M a r k e t Oil on board 99 × 75 cm £4,750

M a a s a i Wa r r i o r s Oil on board 76 × 102 cm £4,750

Cheetah

Cheetah II

Oil on board 100 × 75 cm

£4,750

Sunrise in Lewa

O n t h e R o a d t o N g a r e N d a r e Fo r e s t

Whispers on the Beach at Dusk

Oil on board 37 × 53 cm

Oil on board 76 × 49 cm

Oil on board 75 × 100 cm

£1,950

£3,200

£4,750

F l a m e Tr e e Oil on board 24 × 21 cm £1,600

The Fi rst Bi rd s o ng of t he Day Oil on board 35 × 56 cm £1,950

Hippo in Meru Oil on board 76 × 102 cm £4,750

T h e T u r t l e P r o t e c t o r a n d h i s Fa m i l y

Mo t h e r a n d Da u g h t e r, G rév y's Z e b ra

Oil on board 76 × 102 cm

Oil on board 66 × 94 cm

£4,750

£4,500

Little Donkey in Lewa

Mo u nt Ke nya

Mother and Children

Conversations at Dawn

Oil on board 76 × 52 cm

Oil on board 47 × 52 cm

Oil on board 33 × 22 cm

Oil on board 51 × 75 cm

£3,200

£2,200

£1,750

£3,200

Caryn Hibbert: The Golden Thread It was on 15th April 2021, standing in the water meadows on the farm here at Thyme, that a tiny grasshopper warbler weighing just 13g illustrated so clearly to me the wonder of nature, the importance of wild spaces and how we all need to do everything we can to protect them. This little warbler had been born the year before to the first pair of grasshopper warblers we had ever observed at Thyme. Ringed as a fledgling it had spent the winter in sub-Saharan Africa only to return to the very same hedgerow to raise its own young the following year. Our summer meadows welcome many migratory birds: cuckoos from the Congo, warblers, swifts, swallows and more that have travelled from the mountains of the Sahel to as far away as South Africa. These birds so clearly demonstrate the tangible and very real golden thread that connects our meadowlands in the heart of England to the wild spaces in Africa. Their stories are our stories, and we are delighted to support Tusk’s work throughout this wonderful continent and welcome Jemma’s exhibition to shine a light on how we are all interconnected. Our health and happiness are inextricably linked to that of the natural world, and we must do everything we can to protect it and to deepen the understanding that in nurturing nature, we nurture ourselves.

Wa r b l e r i n t h e Wa t e r M e a d o w Oil on board 76 × 102 cm £4,750

Leopard

African Barbet

Carmine Bee-Eater

Oil on linen canvas 63 × 49 cm

Oil on board 50 × 37 cm

Oil on board 50 × 40 cm

£2,750

£1,950

Savannah, Lewa

Fa m i l y

Oil on board 29 × 75 cm

Oil on linen canvas 50 × 74 cm

£2,400

£3,200

Pink Skies in Lamu Oil on linen canvas 42 × 64 cm £2,400

Sunset in Lamu Oil on linen canvas 39 × 61 cm £2,200

Shoebill

Heron

Oil on board 50 × 34 cm

£1,850

A c a c i a Tr e e a t D a w n

Maasai and their Cattle

Mangroves, Manda Bay

Oil on board 41 × 70 cm

Oil on linen canvas 48 × 50 cm

Oil on linen canvas 20 × 34 cm

£2,400

£2,200

£1,650

Wa i t i n g f o r Fa m u

Lilac-Breasted Roller

Kingfisher

Oil on linen canvas 50 × 69 cm

Oil on board 34 × 25 cm

Oil on board 50 × 37 cm

£2,900

£1,750

£1,950

Hadeda (joint sponsors of the catalogue)

When Hadeda launched in 2019, founder Kate Kindersley set out on a simple mission: to uplift as many artisans and communities as possible by showcasing the beauty of their handcrafted homewares to the world. After living in Cape Town and Tanzania, Kate fell in love with the craftsmanship and the exceptionally talented artisans she met along the way. ‘From traditional techniques passed down through generations, to modern design, there are so many streams of talented designers in Africa. I knew we needed to share the magic, wonder, tradition and excitement of discovering these talented makers with others, and a few years later, Hadeda came to be.’ Taking its name from the beloved South African bird known for its resonant calls, Hadeda curates a collection of handpicked treasures, working closely with artisans spanning an array of artistic disciplines, from ceramics to art, weaving, beading, carpentry and more. Hadeda’s cane furniture is meticulously handwoven by master weavers in rural Malawi using age-old techniques. The brand’s dedication to traditional craftsmanship celebrates exceptional, one-of-a-kind pieces while preserving cultural heritage and creating opportunities, appealing to individuals who eschew mass production in favour of slow, meaningful design.

Kate Kindersley, founder of Hadeda, with one of their artisans

U n d e r g r o w t h i n N g a r e N d a r e Fo r e s t Oil on board 54 × 102 cm £3,600

P. R. Elletson & Co

With thanks to Philip Elletson for making the frames for all the paintings.

CRICKET FINE ART LONDON

HUNGERFORD

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Barrs Yard, Unit 4

London SW10 0AD

1 Bath Road Hungerford RG17 0HE

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