Exhibition aims to 'reframe perceptions' of children in care

Be Your Own Hero: Participants painted their own heroes and villains

A month-long exhibition that aims to "reframe perceptions" of children in care has opened at the Manx Museum.

The artwork, which took nearly nine months to develop, was created by young people who have spent time in care.

Handmade Superheroes: the Untold Story seeks to reflect what life is really like in the care system.

One participant, Jason Campbell, 22, said it was a chance to "flip the script" and show "what is underneath".

The exhibition is a project created by the Voices in Participation (VIP) Council, a programme created in 2009 to give young people in care a forum in which to discuss their experiences.

Jason Campbell and Abby Reeder took part in the project

VIP participation officer Amy Beggs-Cairney said: "It has been really amazing to watch them show their process of creating."

Parts of the exhibition went on display for three weeks in several venues across the island before being brought together for the final display in Douglas.

Installations include a patchwork superhero cape named the "cape of inspiration", images of famous care leavers, well-known books in which children have written their own stories inside, and a coat decorated with hurtful words that had been used to describe participants.

Abby Reeder, 21, said creating the coat had been an emotional process but the public reaction had been a "boost".

She added: "It's overwhelming because you know the public are there for you."

Participants posed for pictures dressed as famous care leavers

In an expressive art workshop the young people threw paint at canvasses

Participants wrote down some of the hurtful words that had been used to describe them

Re-Writing History: Participants wrote their own stories inside well-known books

The cape of inspiration