Crash survivor Grace achieves ‘the First that she always deserved’

In October 2010, Grace, 27, from Bagley, near Ellesmere in Shropshire, was crossing the road in Baschurch when she was hit by a car, suffering a catastrophic brain injury and needing 24/7 care.

But she fought back to go to college and eventually found Chester University to work with her to achieve her degree.

Her mother, Lorraine said:“When our journey started in 2010 we thought everything was over.

For six weeks after her accident, it was unclear whether Grace would live or die.

It took almost two months for her to breathe unaided and 12 months before she could return home.

She wasn’t walking, speaking or able to do anything for herself at that point.

“She could hold a pencil but a consequence of her injury meant she would go round in a circle and not be able to stop.”

For her final degree virtual exhibition work, Grace selected four of her paintings, which were all of her larger than life black and red female figures. Entitled ‘The Identity Series’, they look at the challenges to her identity because of her injury.

“I wanted to show my identity as splintered and evolving, a disorientating sense of fractured self my situation of 24/7 care engenders.”

“I think the big figures better express powerlessness and frustration. The larger than life characters carry a power for anyone feeling reduced or ignored – they are a demand for attention denied.

“Although my work often has humour, the work for this series has moved through anonymity, despair and powerlessness, towards resistance, or even, joyful defiance.”

The car accident left Grace with cognitive impairment.

Because of this, the university was able to support Grace using ‘equivalence’ for her written work – which meant that throughout her degree, Grace was able to present her essay work in the form of a blog, and vlog, both of which can be found at gracecurrieart.blogspot.com.

Dr Jeremy Turner, Deputy Head of Art and Design at the University of Chester, said: “Working with Grace has been a great experience.

“She has, and has had, something to say as an artist and has developed a way of saying it that is direct, unembellished and yet strangely and satisfyingly subtle.

“Her enthusiasm and dry, sometimes cheeky wit has been a real joy to behold. Ultimately, though, it’s been something of a humbling experience.”

Lorraine said: “In 2010 Grace had completed six AS levels and was going to do a degree in Psychology. In a previous life, we would have also expected a First of Grace, so this is very fitting that 10 years after that accident, she has got the First that she always deserved.

"It turns out, it wasn’t all over and in fact it’s just beginning.”