Hilary on the Green, a new exhibition at the Old Sorting Office, is giving Antonia Gialerakis the chance to pay tribute to her artist mother.

The late Hilary Gialerakis was an artist whose work was informed by her surroundings, from the World War II-ravaged streets of London to the South African bush. When she died in 2003, she bequeathed her paintings to Antonia who is now fulfilling her mother’s request to have her work exhibited in the land of her birth.

Gialerakis studied art at Central St Martins before moving to South Africa at 22 with her Quaker parents and siblings at the end of the war.

Twenty-five of Gialerakis’s paintings are on display and they betray different influences. South African critic Roger Smith wrote: “The paintings form a dialogue with artists to which they are indebted including Picasso, Brancusi and the Cubists but also stand in their own right.”

Smith added that although her work has a “strong shared style” it also “falls into different groups” and certainly the paintings in the exhibition reflect the colour and vibrancy of Gilerakis’s adopted country. The works that came before her emigration depicted a war-torn London and, although they were sold off, photos of the paintings document an important stage in her career.

“She experienced the bombs falling on London during World War II,” says Antonia. “She was in Poland Street when the first silent bombs fell. During this period she painted London refugee and street scenes – she was painitng what was relevant to her life and I think they are some of her best work.”

Gialerakis’s life and work has had a strong influence over her daughter’s choice of career: “I am an actress and also work in fashion. Our colourful, creative homelife has led me to a colourful and creative career.”

Antonia, who lives in South Africa, adds: “Mum described herself as an unquiet bird, she was a troubled soul and saw lots of doctors but none could determine what was wrong with her. It did not affect her talent as her paintings were bright and wonderful.”

She believes her mother would have fully approved of the Barnes Green setting for the exhibition: “The setting would have suited her and it is a great tribute to her art, with the pond and the willow trees, which were her favourites.”

Hilary on the Green, Old Sorting Office Arts Centre, Barnes Green, September 19 to 21, 10am to 5pm, email info@osoarts.org.uk