Scottish Families joined forces with Antonia Rolls to unveil The Cost Of Loving In Inverclyde at the Beacon Arts Centre. Antonia has lost two sons to addiction and suicide through drugs and alcohol. Her son Costya passed away in February 2023 aged 29 due to a drug overdose, and she lost Dimitri to suicide in July 2024, when he was just 24.
Antonia creates striking portraits of people in addiction, the parents and children of people who are in addiction, and people who work with those in addiction. She said it's vital that people speak about their experiences and share how they feel. Antonia said: "These portraits show exactly who these people are and what they say.
"It's so important to me to speak up and talk about addiction and loss and life. "There are things that can bring us down and keep us down, and there's all this dark and suffering. "We may not be able to save anyone but we can help each other find light and life.
" Each portrait presents an image of a moment in time, and the text painted around the image tells that person's story. Antonia has created beautiful portraits in honour of her two sons. At the Beacon event, Antonia took people on a tour of her exhibition, speaking about the stories behind each of the paintings.
Participants got the chance to connect with their creativity in a poetry writing class, and took part in a workshop exploring grief, the complexities of substance use, and finding resilience. Scottish Families first connected with Antonia after she .
