When Dobrowolski’s mum put net curtains up at the windows of the garden shed to hide years of junk, she could not have known its true nostalgic value.
This entertaining show is an indulgent retrospective by Powerpoint, featuring treasures from the copious “source material” to represent growing up in the 1970s: family photo albums, football stickers and a Subbuteo score board. It is also a colourful tribute to Dobrowolski’s Polish father whose life took in war, Solidarnosc and migration to Essex, where Dobrowolski grew up.
Seyf similarly provides an entertaining tribute to his own Iranian father, whom he was never to beat at chess, and his mother who, unusually for 1970s Iran, strived for an Ava Gardner look – the photo of the beautiful woman on the flyer for this show turns out to be Seyf’s mum.
The show is unique for its deft weaving of their lives which, while outwardly very different, intersect through a shared childhood passion for football, their respective memories of the celebrated Poland versus Iran match in 1976, and paternal backgrounds which poignantly brought them both into contact with significant political events in Poland and Iran.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here