IN the second special interview about the E17 Art Trail The Countess Euphoria meets artists whose work have a political theme - Martin Adams and Eliyah Sen Roy.

The Countess, also known as performance artist Ruth Calland, is just one of the hundreds of artists taking part in this year’s Art Trail, which takes place all over Walthamstow from September 6 to 14.

Hello my darlings, I am having a really super time, having left behind my dear home-planet of Utopia to explore all the delights of the forthcoming E17 Art Trail and report back to you, my charming readers.

This week I went to see two simply delightful Trail artists, who manage to combine art and politics, and throw all of their creative energies into the greater good.

Personally I am a little self-centred (well, I am gorgeous) so I was intrigued.

Martin Adams is a printmaker, a political agitator and Trotskyite, a nature-lover, a former telephone engineer who put in all of MI5’s phones (oops!), and an absolutely charming man.

Countess: “Some of your more complex imagery deals with specific political events. You combine ironic slogans with violent images and decorative effects.

“Are you saying that these events become like the wallpaper of contemporary life, a backdrop that we accept?”

Martin: “I like the way you put that – and the William Morris connection. Art isn’t just about surface, its about truth.”

Countess: “I know you’re very involved with issues that affect people living in Walthamstow, but if David Cameron offered you zillions of pounds to design a poster campaign for him, would you accept?”

Martin: “Yes.” (I’m fibbing, he said no!) Countess: “Your full name isn’t on your website, but most artists have it in big letters at the top. Is that because you don’t have a very big ego?”

Martin: “Well, I’ll rectify that immediately, my full name is Martin Elouisa Alouishus Golightly Jane Adams. But, if people like the work, they like it; I’m not asking them to like me.”

As someone who simply adores the applause of my fans, the bouquets, the thrown underpants, I found this a bit odd, though very noble. My next artist, Eliyah Sen Roy, has her own thoughts about being liked, in relation to the politics of female beauty.

Countess: “Eliyah, what’s behind the title of your show ‘A Face Only A Mother Can Love?”

Eliyah: “People will say when you’re pregnant – pray for your baby to look like this or like that, but actually, the baby has to look like me.

“People are judging already. I’m from Pakistan. My looks are not what Pakistani people like to have. You get immune.

“I love trolls, and at St Martins College in London I did a self portrait as a half-troll, and the people couldn’t accept it - they thought I wasn’t happy with my appearance - but I’m in love with trolls.”

Countess: “You’ve made some fabulous images of women whose faces or bodies are part-insect – why?”

Eliyah: “Models in the media will do anything – they will stop eating, or have plastic surgery - and turn themselves into insects. I take old paintings (of women) from Asian or British art, and change the concept of beauty, so that these women really are imagining themselves as insects – and still look beautiful.”

Countess: “Indeed. I think I’ll get myself a corset and paint myself in yellow and black stripes. No more cream buns for me.”

Kissy kissy, Countess Euphoria A SELECTION OF POLITICAL WORK ON THE TRAIL Martin Adams: The Lamppost Gallery, 58 Upper Walthamstow Road. Social commentary from the latest gallery in the borough. From 5pm on Sep 13 onwards, 24 hr access with flood lighting. martin.adams@stolen-image.com A face only a Mother can love by Eliyah Sen Roy, Asian Centre, Orford Road. Sept 7, from 3 to 6pm, and 8 to 12 between 9am and 5pm. Interactive drawing event on Sunday 7. eliyahs@hotmail.com /07889829218 North Tutorial, show by Royal College of Art Graduates, includes David Sullivan’s haunting images of Iraq, at the Red Room, behind the Rose and Crown. Sep 6, 7 and 11 to 14 from noon to 6 pm. david.sullivan@network.rca.ac.uk Sasha Honn-Decades, William Morris Gallery. A look at the differences and similarities of women over the span of a century. Sep 6, 7, 13, 14, from 10am to 5 pm, Sep 11 and 12, from noon to 4 pm. sashahonn@gmail.com AFTERMATH, Pirasteh Gourang, Vestry House Museum. Sep 6, 7, 13, 14, from 10am to 5pm, Sep 11, 12 from noon to 4 pm.

A personal response to what remains after the conflict in the Middle East. www.photoart-pirasteh.co.uk ‘Kreuzberg, Berlin’, Peter Tomlinson, Walthamstow Central Library, Sep 6 to 14, during normal opening times. Black and white photos exploring street life on a Sunday morning in this predominantly Turkish area. 020 8521 3906/ 07742 679768.