A man from South Wales who lives with bipolar disorder is being supported to hold an exhibition of his work in memory of his late brother.

Peter Cloke, who works as an outsider artist under the name of ‘Clondike’, has 24 of his pieces being shown at the Art in the Attic, Robert

Maskrey Gallery at the Factory, Porth, from 30th April until 18th May. The final week of the exhibition coincides with Mental Health Awareness Week. The exhibition has the title ‘Even Flow’ and Peter’s work is available to buy from the gallery.

Peter’s work is being shown to pay tribute to his late brother, to improve awareness of mental health and to raise money for Merthyr and the Valleys Mind.

The 53 year old is being supported to hold the exhibition by Making Minds, a voluntary organisation that explores mental health through the arts and creativity, the Valleys Kids Artist in Residence based at the Factory, and Merthyr & the Valleys Mind.

Working as Clondike, from his home in Treharris, Peter produces mixed medium work, some of which is based on his cultural interests and life in South Wales.

Peter said: “If money is raised from the exhibition for Merthyr & the Valleys Mind it can help people suffering from mental illness, and that’s a good thing”.

Mark Smith from Making Minds said: “Peter is the latest artist that we’ve supported, who has either lived experience of mental ill health or who creates work on a related theme. Quite often, the people we’ve helped haven’t had the experience of exhibiting their work in an art gallery before, so it’s always a special feeling to be able to do this. If we can help Peter achieve his goal of raising money it would be a lovely bonus.”

Julian John, Director of Merthyr and the Valleys Mind commented: “Peter’s artwork is excellent and we are very grateful that he is using it to raise funds for Merthyr and The Valleys Mind. Peter has first hand experience of living with mental ill health and the fact that he wants to raise awareness to help other people is very commendable.”

As part of the exhibition, an auction of Peter’s work will be held at the Factory’s Art in the Attic Robert Maskrey gallery on Wednesday 16th May, 6pm-8pm, with proceeds going to Merthyr & the Valleys Mind. The event is free to attend but you will need to book a place by sending an email to anneculverhouseevans@ valleyskids.org or by calling the Factory on 01443 687080.