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26th February 2009
'Joseph Campbell once said, 'reality' is comprised of those myths we haven't quite seen through.' I want my paintings to be portals to mythical realms, gateways to imaginary worlds beyond everyday reality. Seeing beyond the illusion of 'reality' is the first step to dreaming our own dreams, and speaking with our own authentic voice. When we dream our own dreams, and speak authentically, we bring light to the world and we inspire others to let their light shine. Desiree Cox 2009. 
Desiree Cox was born in the slums of Nassau in 1965, however, from an early age her positive upbringing installed her iron determination and sensitivity to the meaning of life . At the tender age of five she made her first public performance as a singer, and at eleven she was chosen as the soloist at the state funeral of the First Governor General of the Bahamas. A singing career beckoned but to the young Desiree her dream was to help others to become a doctor. The first in her family to go to university; funded by giving recitals together with the help of winning two Bahamian scholarships. She later won a Rhodes scholarship to study medicine at Oxford University England, then went on to study an MA in medical history at Cambridge; later came the PhD. Interested in the Renaissance, a period when there were no boundaries between art, music and medicine resonated with her. She decided early that she would follow her own path, and be guided by her inner voice and intuition. Her path led to her to working in a number of different professions; a medical doctor, an academic historian of medicine, a jazz-singer, a writer, a consultant in Human Development and Urban Renewal. Now finally, she is able to speak her truth using the symbolism of words, sound and colour on canvas. During her medical studies she began to fully appreciate the healing powers of the imagination. After studying at Cambridge, she worked in London as a doctor and a performing artist for a number of years; being a hospital-doctor by day, and a Jazz-singer by night. She came to see that healing was a journey of the soul and visual art, the soul's journey expressed in living colour. In 2002, Desiree set up the UK charity Performing Cures to connect hospital communities through the performance of live music, art and dramatic performances in the public spaces of hospitals. Since 2004 she have lived in The Bahamas and the UK and since January 2009 she combines her job as Professor of Behavioral Sciences in the Department of Integrative Medicine at Ross University Medical School (DeVry Corporation) in Freeport, Bahamas with Medical Humanities; where she researches in Consciousness and Creativity, paints, writes and teaches medical students. Inspired by light, colour and energy of nature her meticulously conceived paintings explore the 'not so grey' areas between the 'real' and the 'unreal'. The 'colour families' or combinations of colours she uses, draws from the Bahamian public art form known as 'Junkanoo'. She has exhibited internationally including New York, the Bahamas and London where she connects her paintings with the performing arts and fiction with the aim of creating a sacred space; where people can travel through the doorway of the imagination to worlds that inspire them. Her forthcoming exhibition at the Air Gallery, London, which commences on The 22nd March 2009, is one that should not to be missed. In a time of world economical uncertainty, there will be, albeit for just a week, a small area within London that will be filled with freshness, bountiful colour, ambient sound and most importantly filled with an immense amount of positive feeling. Combining Visionary paintings and evocative poetry, OutSide In is an exhibition of contemporary surreal images which draws the viewer into the mythical and colourful real and unreal worlds that revolve in, through and outside of us. The exhibition is a translation of these conscious and unconscious excursions into a series of images painted on canvas and with words, which invite the viewer to bask in various inner states. In this exhibition, the artist, originally a scientist and medical doctor now also artist and writer with twenty-five years experience of exploring the worlds of medicine and humanities shares images from her transformation – the turning outside in and inside out – towards 'whole-person' health. Open daily from 10.30 – 6pm Free Entry. The Air Gallery, 32 Dover Street London
March 22nd - 28th 2009
10.30am-6pm daily
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