b. 1956, MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND
“My ambition is to unite the world through the eyes of these children and let today’s cultures understand that in order to sustain our societies, we must protect and nurture our children, and also protect and nurture the child within us all. It is our responsibility to love these children, to let them bring love back to the world, and to keep our eyes open to the wonderment of childhood.”
– Mackenzie Thorpe
Internationally renowned artist Mackenzie Thorpe was raised in the industrial town of Middlesbrough in the 1950s, where his father worked as a laborer and his mother as an auxiliary nurse. Life for the Thorpe family was no different to that of most of their community – at times a struggle. Mackenzie acknowledges mixed emotions about this period in his life. He remembers the strong feeling of community spirit, the warmth and humor that flourished in the face of adversity, as well as the loneliness and isolation. |