When Riflemaker offered me the prospect of displaying the work of Naomi V. Jelish arranged according to my good friend John Ivesmail’s wishes, I admit I jumped at the opportunity. John passed away in 2002 and left with me both the collection of Naomi’s drawings he possessed and the materials he accumulated in his attempt to mount an exhibition of her work (itself enough for a further exhibition). John also left a note asking if I would continue his efforts in re-uniting both his own and the other ‘lost’ collection of Naomi’s work and if and when possible make sure that the public were granted access to the work of the young artist. I would like to thank Riflemaker for allowing me the chance to grant John’s wishes.
I met John Ivesmail for the first time when I lodged in his house in Eltham. John was accommodating and friendly - a lifelong bachelor who had always lived alone and rarely left his native Gravesend. It may have been due to these circumstances that John began to recite stories and episodes from his past for my benefit. One of the more engaging yarns was that of Naomi Jelish, a schoolgirl from Gravesend.
A lifelong associate of Naomi’s father David, John had initially encountered the young girl at her father’s funeral in October 1990 (link). John was immediately captivated by the girl’s ‘exceptional drawing ability’ as she perched at the ceremony capturing the grieving attendees. He later divulged a deeper kinship he shared with Naomi as he had also lost a parent at an early age. John offered the young artist’s mother Vanessa his support and began to make regular visits to the Jelish home. It was during this period that John observed what he referred to as ‘a prodigious and sensitive talent in the making’.