The largest-ever exhibition of the UK’s hobbies has arrived in Sunderland.

Hetain Patel overlooked by Spider-Man at the opening of Come As You Really Are at NGCA. | Submitted

placeholder image — Hetain Patel overlooked by Spider-Man at the opening of Come As You Really Are at NGCA. | Submitted

Award-winning artist and Spider-Man enthusiast Hetain Patel has brought his free Come As You Really Are exhibition to the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art (NGCA) which is housed in the National Glass Centre.

The exhibition is part of a nationwide project commissioned by London-based arts organisation Artangel that is touring the UK.

In advance of the exhibition arriving, Hetain invited collectors, crafters, makers and modifiers to share details and examples of their hobbies - with people donating everything from football memorabilia to a full size dalek.

Hundreds of unique hand-crafted objects loaned from people across the North East are now on display at NGCA alongside a film by Hetain, which explores the outstanding creativity and passion that people put into their hobbies.

Hetain Patel with a full-sized Dalek which was submitted to the exhibition | Submitted

Speaking at the launch of Come As You Really Are, Hetain said he’d been impressed by the quality and quantity of objects loaned for the exhibition.

Hetain added: “I’ve been surprised by the enormous amount of football memorabilia, the brilliant glassware, the number of quilts – and the full-sized dalek, which was very unexpected. I’ve also been impressed by the venue – what a perfect setting!

“There’s an increasingly fine line between hobbies and work produced for commercial resale, and some of the artwork submitted for the exhibition is of a professional standard.

“Come As You Really Are explores how individuals express their identity, character and creativity through their favourite pastimes, and Sunderland is our second venue on our nationwide tour.”

The inaugural exhibition took place at The Hobby Cave at Grants, Croydon, London between July and October last year, and Come As You Really Are will be at NGCA to Sunday, July 6 this year.

The NGCA gallery is housed within National Glass Centre | Sunderland Echo

The exhibition opened with a Q&A session during which photographer and artist Julian Germain asked Hetain about his background and how his interest in art and hobbies developed. Julian and Hetain also discussed what constituted a hobby.

Hetain spoke about the benefits of having a hobby and how it could help combat loneliness and isolation.

He added: “Some people can be quite shy about having a hobby, worried that it might be seen as ‘nerdy’ or different – or even a guilty pleasure.

“When I talk to people about their hobbies they can be quite quiet talking about themselves, but when you get them talking about their hobby – whatever it may be – you can see them coming alive. Hobbies can really unite people – there’s no hierarchy involved.”

Hetain is an award-winning British-Gujarati artist and filmmaker. Much of his practice is derived from his childhood hobbies and interests, including his lifelong passion for Spider-Man.

In 2013, the artist created his first sculpture, Fiesta Transformer, when he converted his car into a real- life Transformer robot with the help of his father.

Come As You Really Are is Patel’s most ambitious and far-reaching project to date.

National partners for Come As You Really Are include Factory International, Manchester; Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea; Grundy Art Gallery, Blackpool; Museum of Making, Derby Museums Trust; National Festival of Making with Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery; Wolverhampton Art Gallery; Barnsley Civic; Inverness Museum and Art Gallery; CCA Derry-Londonderry; Hospitalfield, Arbroath and Tate St Ives.

For more on Come As You Really are at NGCA, go to https://www.sunderlandculture.org.uk/whats-on/hetain-patel-come-as-you-really-are/