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Fife-raised alcoholic is ‘poster man’ of addicts exhibition at Edinburgh Festival

Former High Valleyfield man Ian Doctor is helping to raise awareness about the impact addiction has on addicts and those who love them.

Ian Doctor next to his poster at the recent Brighton show.
Ian Doctor next to his poster at the recent Brighton show. Image: Antonia Rolls

A Fife-raised alcoholic is the “poster man” for an Edinburgh Festival exhibition that aims to humanise addicts and give them and their loved ones a voice.

Ian Doctor, 52, who grew up in High Valleyfield and now lives near Bognor Regis, features on publicity material for ‘Addicts And Those Who Love Them: behind every addict is someone traumatised by loving them’.

The powerful exhibition is being staged by self-employed portrait artist Antonia Rolls, whose 29-year-old son Costya was an addict and who died from an overdose in February.

What is in the addicts exhibition?

The exhibition features portraits of addicts alongside words pulled together from interviews Antonia did with addicts to try and understand what was happening with her son.

Antonia, who studied art history at Aberdeen University in the 1980s, first met Ian at her very first exhibition in 2019, Brighter the Light, which focussed on her son’s addiction.

Poster featuring Ian Doctor from Fife.
Poster featuring Ian Doctor from Fife. Image: Antonia Rolls

However, when Costya “kicked off” on the opening night of that first exhibition and it became clear that the portraits of him could never be shown publicly again, Ian, who’s now a drug and alcohol recovery coach, supported her. They’ve been friends since.

What inspired the exhibition?

“Ian is the first person I painted and interviewed for my exhibition ‘Addicts And Those Who Love Them: behind every addict is someone traumatised by loving them’,” explained Antonia.

“My son Costya was an addict and I created this exhibition to try to understand him.

“It was important to try and see what was happening in his life, and I did do so.

“He and I became very close.

Artist Antonia Rolls with her late son Costya who died from an overdose in February 2023.
Artist Antonia Rolls with her late son Costya who died from an overdose in February 2023. Image: Antonia Rolls

“But it still did not stop his death early in 2023 from an overdose. He was 29.”

Ian, who left his west Fife mining village when he was 16, has been an alcoholic for the best part of 40 years and has been 11 years sober.

He finally got the help he needed in 2012.

However, his experiences have taken their toll on his own family.

He now supports people with relapse prevention.

Giving addicts and their loved ones a ‘voice’

Antonia said ‘Addicts And Those Who Love Them: behind every addict is someone traumatised by loving them’ has been shown in 2021 and 2022 as part of the Brighton Fringe.

The feedback from those was so good that she grew the project.

However, the poignancy of the exhibition has grown considerably since the death of her own son in February.

A picture by Antonia called 'Night, Love' showing her son Costya, high on something in his flat, unconscious.
A picture by Antonia called ‘Night, Love’. It shows Costya, high on something in his flat, unconscious. Antonia was leaving, and said ‘Night Love’ to him, as she did when he was a little boy. In her mind, he said ‘Night Mummy’ back. Image: Antonia Rolls

An inquest into her son’s death is due to take place on August 22.

“So many of the addicts now featured in the exhibition came into the exhibition because they wanted to talk or wanted their faces to be seen or their stories to be told,” she added.

“At the first showing in Brighton a couple of years ago, two teens came in. The only thing they had was each other.

“Their parents were so lost in addiction, they’d just had to bring themselves up.

“They’d found each other at school.

Michael and Martin: Michael, facing forward, was 30 years an alcoholic and has been 11 years sober.
Michael and Martin: Michael, facing forward, was 30 years an alcoholic and has been 11 years sober. He finds life hard but has the support of Martin, who stood by him those 30 years. Image: Antonia Rolls

“They came in and were blown away.

“They sat in the exhibition. I think it was the only safe space they’d had for a long time, and they became part of the exhibition. Their portraits are now included.

“It’s similar with Ian. He’s been helping me and his own story is now part of the show. “More people than you might think are affected by such issues, but rarely do they have a voice.”

Where and when to see the exhibition

‘Addicts And Those Who Love Them: behind every addict is someone traumatised by loving them’ by Antonia Rolls runs at the Edinburgh Festival, Whitespace Gallery, 76 East Crosscauseway, EH8 9HQ, August 12-16, 12-6pm and August 17, 12-4pm. Entry is free.

* A fuller interview with Ian Doctor and Antonia Rolls will be carried in a future edition of The Courier’s Weekend magazine.

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