Nettles

Quite a few of these need to be grasped by politicians around the world, right now. The planet has never felt so divided and unsafe since the height of the Cold War. We need leaders who will listen so that they can lead.

Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore were the two leading artists of the Avant Garde in Britain from the 1930s. Both are mostly known for their abstract sculptures, many examples of which adorn public places around the world - including my favourite Sculpture Park, in Yorkshire.

However, both Hepworth and Moore were accomplished graphic artists too. In 1947, at the very beginning of the National Health Service, Hepworth began a two year project drawing scenes in hospitals' operating theatres. They show the hands of the surgeons in great detail.  Surgical masks mean that only the eyes of the doctors are visible. I saw an exhibition of these works at the Wakefield Museum named after Barbara Hepworth about 7 years ago.

Henry Moore undertook a similar project during World War 2 when he drew people taking shelter from the bombing, in the tunnels of the London Underground.