Artist 'happy to support' domestic abuse service

A portrait artist has said she hopes her new exhibition can support a domestic abuse service.

Sisters with Secrets, an exhibition by Margo in Margate, real name Margo McDaid, opened on Friday, with part of the proceeds from any sales going to Oasis Domestic Abuse Service, based in her namesake Kent town.

She said that domestic violence was "a massive issue in the modern world" and the charity's work was "something that as a female artist, I'm really happy to support".

The painter quit her primary school teaching job in 2006 after one of her pupils was murdered.

"I think of that little girl every single day, she stays with me," McDaid told the BBC.

"That lovely little girl still has family today who are grieving her loss, but the fact is it's still happening."

The exhibition at the Pie Factory Margate is on show until Monday and centres around a confession box, which McDaid said was actually "a bit of a ruse".

"I don't want you to confess, I want you to be really content with your secrets and that you're entitled to keep those things secret," she said.

"I think it's important that you can share all and you can bear all, but also I think the opposite is true. You can keep your secrets to yourself."

The works were influenced by "the vibrancy that is in Margate", where the painter, originally from Northern Ireland, has lived for 16 years, McDaid said.

"There's lots of real bright girls and women who live here, and their clothes and their attitude is something that really inspires my work," she said.

• If you are affected by any of the issues raised, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.

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