A NEW exhibition will go on display at a church in Pocklington later this month to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day on March 21.

The exhibition, called '21', is a collection of 21 portraits by York-based portrait artist Sue Clayton, all inspired by children and adults who have Down Syndrome - including Sue’s "energetic," son James.

This will be the second outdoor exhibition staged by Pocklington Arts Centre (PAC) in lockdown, following the "highly successful," NHS Heroes exhibition by Karen Winship.

Sue has chosen the theme ‘21’ to not only mark March 21, when World Down Syndrome is celebrated, but also to symbolise the extra 21st chromosome that people with Down Syndrome have.

Sue Clayton, of York, said: “I am delighted to once again be teaming up with Pocklington Arts Centre to unveil my latest exhibition ‘21’ to mark World Down Syndrome Day.

“I take a huge amount of inspiration from my son James, who celebrated his 18th birthday in lockdown, so I am very much looking forward to bringing this collection of portraits featuring children and adults with Down Syndrome at work and play to Pocklington.

“I really hope it helps to not only celebrate some incredible people but also perhaps challenge some people’s perceptions of Down Syndrome to coincide with this international awareness raising campaign.”

The '21' exhibition will go on display outside All Saints Church, in Pocklington from Friday March 19 until Monday April 19.

PAC director, Janet Farmer said: “We are delighted to be working with Sue Clayton once again on what promises to be a fantastic exhibition to help raise awareness of a worthwhile cause.

"We hope as many people as possible enjoy this truly unique and inspiring collection of works."

The exhibition comes a year after Sue held a record breaking attempt to create the world’s largest pair of knitted socks at PAC, with the huge socks forming the impressive backdrop to her highly acclaimed studio exhibition ‘Downright Marvellous at Large’.

The project saw keen knitters from the local community and beyond knitting and donating brightly coloured squares that were joined together to create the enormous odd socks.

Odd socks are typically worn to mark WDSD as part of a global fundraising campaign ‘Lots of Socks’ to represent the odd number of chromosomes, which are shaped like socks.

Sue said she is drawn to the portrait because “it insists upon the idea that the more you look at a face, the more you see."