Seychelles Splendour: Adams family art takes London by storm at Chis Beetles Gallery   |06 December 2023

An Adams family exhibition was held at the famous Chis Beetles Gallery, St James, London from October 10 to October 28, which comprised paintings by the legendary pioneer artist of Seychelles, Michael Adams, his son and daughter, Tristan and Alyssa Adams, who are both respected artists in their own rights.

This was history in the making as it was the very first time that all three Adams’ family pictures were displayed alongside each other.

The exhibition came about through a meeting with Brigitta Best who knew the gallery owner, Chris Beetles. Ms Best is also very keen on ‘Protect Paradise’, geared towards saving endangered species, whereby 10 percent of all proceeds from the exhibition went towards the charity.

Unfortunately, neither artist could be present at the actual exhibition itself, but Heather Adams, wife of Mr Adams stood as the Adams family representative. She read a letter to the guests on behalf of her husband which said; “It has been a wild dance, holding the tale of the dragon.”

In an interview with Seychelles NATION at their studio in Anse Aux Poules Bleues, Mrs Adams described the overall reception by the British audience in regards to the Adams family paintings as a positive one, stating emphatically that “they loved them”.

She mentioned that Jeffrey Archer, a writer, who was one of the people at the exhibition, exclaimed that it was something he had never seen before and that it was wonderful, vibrant and full of life and that he loved it. Furthermore, she also mentioned that famous actor John Cleese bought two of Mr Adams’ pictures. “It was good fun and a lovely day,” she added.

In the business sense, she explained that the advantages of having one’s own gallery means that there is no commission to be paid. The commission paid at the Beetles gallery was 50% on top of the already 10% of the charity donations and tax deductions as well. “At the end of the day, it was not a financial success, however, it was a publicity success in the sense that there has never been a Seychelles exhibition of three Adams pictures before,” she stated.

For his part, Tristan Adams who has been painting for 15 years and started at 30 years old, noted that it was a true honour to be part of a family exhibition. However, it would not change anything significantly and he would continue to paint every day.

When discussing why it took him that long before he began painting, he stated that it was just the right time and right place; during a trip in Mauritius where everything fell into place. “I was always drawing my whole life, so it was kind of preparation,” he joked.  

He said the inspiration was indeed from his father but the direction of his paintings is different. Tristan also likes painting waves and movements of the ocean, however, his favourite type of painting are things like outer islands and travelling.

For his part, legendary pioneer, Michael Adams, said he does not feel a strong need to display his paintings anymore, as he has extensively exhibited them in his earlier years. He believes it was important to make room for emerging artists to showcase their work.

However, he observed that the current exhibition, based on the photographs he has seen, predominantly features an older audience rather than the fresh, young talent he had hoped would be introduced.

“However, perhaps the people taking the photographs where focusing on the people they knew rather than the young ones. I have not been to it myself but it seems to be a good gallery. It is in a very prodigious place, right in the centre of London.”

Mr Adams exclaimed that he was happy for Seychelles and for people who have seen what can be done with Seychelles. He noted that it was a success and that people enjoyed it.

“I have not gotten all the feedback yet but I am hoping this could be an ongoing theme, that the children will carry on and they now have been introduced to people in London so therefore, maybe there will be an interest there to keep Seychelles alive in London.”

He admitted that he was a little reluctant to even participate in the exhibition in the first place because Seychelles is his area of observation and having been around the world quite a bit, it was rather Mrs Adams who was really determined to show Seychelles and the Adams family art to the world not just locally. “It is important to do that.”

Regarding why he thinks that the younger generation have perhaps not taken a greater interest in art, Mr Adams suggested that it may be due to the fact that generally art is slower in attracting the intellectual attention of them. He conveyed that the younger generation are currently living in an electric livewire atmosphere, so therefore, in order to get their attention, he joked that you would have to be a famous film director such as Quentin Tarantino to shake the world. “Art is always an indirect introduction to find the finer things of life and therefore you need a bit of patience to get in there and the youth today are not patient as we know.”

Humbly, he stated that he is not going to try and compete with the electric world and wants people to appreciate that they are close to nature and that we should love nature for what it is.

When questioned about if he thinks art in its purest form will still be here 20 years down the line, he answered with an emphatic “definitely”, in the same way that the word ‘art’ itself, will change considerably. “It is still terribly important for communication.”

According to Mr Adams, any form of communication is so vital and the human race needs it. There must not be a loss of touch in communications.

“Where it is possible, talk to people in bus queues and stop people on a zebra crossing and say good morning.”

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the exhibition.

Sunny Esparon

Photos: Contributed