The Artistic Legacy Of Mark Wood

Mark Wood starved to death four months after his benefits were cut off in 2013. Wood, who was 44 when he died, had a number of complex health conditions; he was found dead at his home, months after an Atos administered fitness-for-work assessment found him well enough to work and triggered a decision to stop his sickness and housing benefits.

The coroner said that, although it was impossible to identify the cause of death, it was probably “caused or contributed to by Wood being markedly underweight and malnourished”. A doctor’s letter presented to the inquest said the pressure put on Wood by benefit changes had made his anxiety disorder “significantly worse”.

Wood’s family has been campaigning for a formal apology from the government that is not yet forthcoming. In the meantime, they are working to reframe his legacy, so that he will be remembered not only as a tragic victim of welfare reform, but also as a painter, photographer and poet. An exhibition of his paintings, songs and poetry opens in Oxford on Saturday with the support of Oxfordshire Mind.

Jill Gant, Mark’s mother, says he drew compulsively as a child. His mental health difficulties made it impossible for him to work, but she hopes people will be moved by his pictures, which reveal a thoughtful approach to the damage being inflicted on the planet.

“He had this incredible passion and talent, and he died in such tragic circumstances. The system couldn’t accommodate him; he wasn’t employable,” she says. “I hope this exhibition shows that, despite this, he can make a positive contribution to the common good. You don’t just have to be a cog in the machine, a productive economic unit in the conventional sense – if you have an important message, then you can bring about positive change.
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“He felt the pain of what was happening to the planet. His message was that nature is the most wonderful thing, the planet is the most remarkable thing and that it is seriously at risk, so we need to change the way we live.”

Although she has had a constructive meeting with the then disability minister Mark Harper, Gant says the government has not agreed to implement measures that she believes would help stop other vulnerable people like her son – those who are not able to come forward and explain why they need support from the state – from falling between the cracks of the welfare system.

“He was definitely a victim of welfare reform,” she says. “This government states that it is committed to helping the very vulnerable; my position is that it is the very vulnerable, the ones who are least able to help themselves, that they don’t fully support.”

The Spirit of Nature, an exhibition of Mark Wood’s work, runs from 27 June until 18 July (excluding Sundays) at The Gallery, Oxford Town Hall