Many people might associate contemporary art with daring, ‘out-there’ ideas or unorthodox techniques, so in this session we will delve into all the ways artists have recently tackled  in their works taboo themes linking to love, sexuality and trauma.  Looking back at Hockney’s pool scenes from California in the 60s, one might not recognise just how radical these were for their time, in the same way that Francis Bacon’s illustrations of nude wrestling figures, might not appear shocking today, yet in their first exhibition they remained hidden away from street view to avoid confiscation by the police. Similarly, paintings by Lucian Freud, revealed the typically hidden aspects of quotidian life – the cracks in his marriage, his paternal flaws and his most personal regrets.