“The theme is betrayal and having your hopes and dreams taken away from you” Robert Maltby

Next month will see the three-year anniversary of Sophie Lancaster’s murder. While the focus has been on championing the campaign started in her name, to create understanding of subcultures in our communities, Sophie’s boyfriend, Robert Maltby has been slowly rebuilding his life.

Last month, he held Crimson Iris: The Art of Sophie, his first solo art exhibition in Manchester. Here he tells Bizarre how art has helped him through the dark times, and Sophie’s influence on his latest collection…

Since the attack on you and Sophie, you’ve understandably kept out of the media. How did you feel about doing a solo art show?
I’ve been pretty much riding a wave of terror for the last six months! I’ve exhibited before, but with other artists. It’s cowardly to say that exhibiting with others takes the fear out of it a bit, but I’m just being honest. I’ve never done anything this big before.

How did this exhibition come about?
I’d been talking to Sophie’s mum, Sylvia, about doing one for a while, but it started off as a local exhibition with a group of artists, but then it evolved into it being just me. I was shitting myself, but on the day I sold five paintings and the guitar (donated by metal guitar brand, Jackson) ended up selling for £1,000. All the money is being donated to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

Where did you get the inspiration for this collection?
The iris represents hope, faith and anger, and the crimson symbolises violence, anger and danger. One character was based on Sophie. She represented the good against all the other people’s negative motivations. It sounds horrible when I think about it, but the theme is betrayal and crushed dreams. Having something that you think will be the answer to everything and then it all just being washed away.

Incredibly similar to what you’ve been through.
Yes, absolutely. Imagine the most religious person ever dying and then they’re just approaching the blackness and silence. No God, no harps, no angels on clouds. It’s quite pessimistic.

How has art helped your recovery?
Art has been a complete distraction. In the beginning, I couldn’t engage with it because the brain damage I sustained from the attack was still affecting me. Then everything caught up with me and I just didn’t want to do it. It wasn’t until the middle of last year that I started to paint again.

How have you changed as a person and an artist?
I was spending a lot of time on my own and have used this as an opportunity to perfect my art. I try to think back to the person I was before all this and I get the shivers. I think, “Was that me?” Before I was incredibly impulsive, but now I’ve matured.

In the few press interviews you did after August 11, you said that you and Sophie weren’t attacked based purely on the way you look…
I didn’t like that the press made a big thing about that. It was portioning the blame to us. It wasn’t just because we were dressed ‘funny’ it was because some twats can’t accept things. I was trying to show that the blame was with them.

How do you feel about Bizarre’s Proud To Be Different campaign?
I generally don’t read many magazines, but Bizarre is one of the few ones I do. I’m just glad the campaign is encouraging the community to realise they don’t have to suffer in silence.

Do you agree with the call to amend the Hate Crime legislation?
I don’t get too involved with the political side as I think it would cheapen it and I have no interest, but the last thing I want from this is for the floodgates to open and for hate crime to become utterly meaningless.

What happens for you now?
I haven’t thought that far ahead. Exhibitions are good, but I’d really like to get into illustrating. My geeky dream is to start doing comic covers. I just want to do something with a purpose.