Zig Zag Residency & Artist Bursary Award, As Old as the Hills

Work in progress. Photo by Richard Tomlinson

I’ve been working in the Zig Zag building, Glastonbury, constructing some of my stilt structures for As Old as the Hills, a project I’m co-curating with Jan Ollis.

I’m interested in placing art in unusual spaces that bring their own atmosphere. The Zig Zag is unique; an iconic example of Bauhaus architecture, light floods in through long banks of windows which span both lengths of the building. I’m thrilled to be using it as a residency and exhibition space, collaborating with such a great selection of artists, and community.

My series of Stilt Structures imply precarity, adaptability and resilience; treading the earth lightly. Stilt dwellings, built to avoid floods, exist on edges of safety around the world; precarious, fragile structures in unstable environments that might collapse. Somali nomads carry their homes - elaborate bundles - on overladen camels (symbols of adaptability, endurance, trade routes). The Landes stilt-walkers of 19thC adapted to their marshy environment. The work also refers to the ancient timber Sweet Track built 3800BC, Avalon Marshes. The walkway, constructed on diagonal sticks, was a way for humans to traverse boggy marshland, once submerged under sea.

My work responds to the Zig Zag building: its history as Morlands sheepskin/leather factory, the verticals/horizontals of its Bauhaus architecture and Bauhaus textiles. I’ve sourced materials from marshes, rivers and beaches, and harvested local plants to dye fabric remnants. Bound, wrapped and hand-stitched, the bundles carry politics of textiles: history of trade, colonisation, mass production, and wasteful fashion industry. In our increasingly unstable climate of floods, famine, extinctions, gyres of waste escalating in the name of ‘progress’, my hybrids - part vessel, house, creature - are past and future imaginings.

Thanks to my neighbour Roger Spear who has been a great help to me with constructing and installing, and Chris Black (Zig Zag) for all his support. Also to Nigel Evans and others who have dropped by to give a hand.

I’m really thrilled and so grateful to have been awarded a Curator Space Artist Bursary to support the development of my new work for As Old as the Hills.

You are welcome to attend our Exhibition Launch on Saturday 21st September, 10 - 5. After party from 5pm

The project and preparations for our Exhibition Launch are going well.  Artists are now working on the final stages of work in residencies at the Zig Zag.  One of our artists, Cat Robertson, has been staying with me, and it has been inspiring working and getting to know her. Our Launch opens at 10am with events happening throughout the day, starting with the opening by the Mayor of Glastonbury, a dance response to the work  at by Katherine Ashworth and Melanie Thompson 11am , followed by a comedic performance by Di Milstein 11.30am, then a talk 2.30pm by Damon Bridge (RSPB/project partner).  Or do come to the exhibition any day 10-5 between 21 Sept-6 Oct , part of Somerset Art Weeks Festival.

Upcoming workshops as part of As Old as the Hills:

Drop in or email: fionacampbell-art@sky.com

Book via Eventbrite

Artists in Conversation, Tuesday 24 Sept, 6.30pm,, £5

Layered books Workshop with Penelope O'Gara and Fiona Campbell, Saturday 28 September, 2-4pm, £12

Workshop working with found feathers, owl pellets, plant & river weed pressings with Duncan Cameron, Sunday 29 September, 2-4pm, £12

'Living on the Edge’: Talk by Zig Zag owner Chris Black, blurring boundaries between urban & rural, Sunday 29 September, 6pm, £10

Pyre is currently on show at Royal Society of Sculptors Summer Show: ‘Reality Check’, Dora House, 108 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3RA, 22 July- 21 Sept,

I have an upcoming exhibition Elemental at Sou’ - Sou’ -West, Bridport with Jan Alison Edwards and Ally Matthews (19 Oct-10 Nov), so am making new work for this

I’m offering an online Sculpture Course (self-directed) - great value at only £40. Do share!

Hope to see you at one or more of these events!

Sack

Sack; found, discarded & recycled materials (mostly from Barreiro post-industrial wasteland and Lisbon): jute, fabric (some botanically hand-dyed), twine, plastic, nylon, polystyrene, rope, wood, wire, thread; 2024. Photo by Celso Rose, PADA Gallery, Barreiro, Portugal

Sack (iteration V). I envisaged my final piece being installed in the site that inspired the work - an abandoned post-industrial wasteland of plastic, concrete and steel debris. Image created by Ellie Foreman-Peck. a virtual rendition of my idea, as it wasn’t possible to install due to logistical and time constraints.

Me with Sack. Photo by Ticiano Rottenstein

PADA Residency Exhibition, Barreiro, Portugal. Photo by Celso Rose

Sack (iteration IV), sited on river Tagus beach. I returned dismantled parts of my stilt structure to where they were found here. Photo by Celso Rose

Sack (iteration II)

Sack stitched together, with stilt structure

Me with stilt structure

Sack (iteration I). Sited as a hanging in the post-industrial wasteland, Barriero, Portugal - the site that inspired the work. Photos above & below by Celso Rose

Sack; mixed media relief collage: discarded objects/materials & graphite rubbings

Sack is a site-responsive artwork, created during my PADA art residency in Barreiro, near Lisbon, Portugal in February. The work evolved in stages, as a response to PADA’s history as a jute warehouse, and the nearby post-industrial toxic wasteland. The bodily form, a container of waste, is made from a hand-stitched patchwork of discarded materials/offcuts I collected in the locality, especially jute sacks. The warp and weft of the weavings reflect grids in urban surrounds. Colours reflect yellow wild flowers and lichen growing on concrete; and reds/oranges of iron and sulphur..

In Ursula Le Guin’s The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, she describes the sack as ‘belly of the universe.. a ‘womb.. tomb…. unending story.’ It follows Elizabeth Fisher’s The Carrier Bag Theory of Human Evolution:. She suggests ’the first cultural device was probably a recipient’ (rather than a spear/stick). Symbol of a softer story. It matters what stories you tell (Donna Harraway).

I loved the residency. It was an intensive month working in a spacious studio alongside other residency artists, exploring the area, and utilising waste materials. My work was documented/filmed in sites relevant to its development, thanks to Celso Rose, and exhibited in our final residency exhibition. Days were long, many hours spent collecting found materials in the industrial park and along river Tagus beach to use in the work; back and forth with trolley loads.. I made a short film of this process (below). The tall stilt structure was made from found wood and rope from the beach. A new process for me was weaving found/to-hand materials into artworks, which became part of the larger piece, hand-stitched together to form the giant sack. They were laborious processes, and at times I wasn’t sure it would all pull together.

Our exhibition Private View event was a great success. It was lovely to see an old schoolfriend, Sonia there, and I’m grateful for the feedback I received from visitors. At the end of the residency, after de-installation, I placed the raft section of my stilt structure on the wall at PADA studios (pic 13 in grid below). I’m extremely grateful to Tim Ralston for hosting and for his technical support, all the artists involved for their comradeship and help, and Tania Geiroto Marcelino for curating the show. Sack is a living sculpture that will adapt, perhaps grow, according to future sites.

Current and upcoming exhibitions and projects:

Casting Shadows ACEarts Somerton, Somerset TA11 7NB;  2 March - 6 April (Tues-Sat), with Royal Society of Sculptors members.

Stilt Structure I; found, recycled & waste materials: wood, bark, coir, copper wire, leaves, pod, grass stems, charred feathers, fabric, plastic netting, polyester stuffing, jute, tennis ball, sisal, khadi paper, wool, thread, coffee beans, cardamom seeds, nutmeg pods, rice, nylon tights, oil; 2024

Sustainable Art Open, Atkinson Gallery, Somerset BA16 0YD. Book a free slot here to visit. Open 9:30am-5pm, 21 Feb - 21 March (Closed Sun - Tues). Tel: 01458 444322.

A giant collage installation with text spanned the galleries of the Baptist Chapel during the Shepton Mallet Snowdrops Festival in February.  Themed ‘Nature Unbound’, the work was created in a workshop with me, Polly Hall, and community, installed by Georgia Freely. Photos below: 1-4,6,8 Andy Ladhams; 5,7 Kirsten Madeira-Ravell

Excited about an upcoming collaboration with dance artist Vanessa Grasse. We will be working together in a residency over a 5 day period to create sustainable wearable sculptures for Vanessa to perform with as part of her choreographic project Elysia.

I’m co-curating an art project As Old as the Hills with Jan Ollis. Residencies will lead to an immersive exhibition with 10 artists + events in the Zig Zag building, Glastonbury for Somerset Art Weeks Festival ’24.

Back to teaching at Bath College. If you’re interested (or know someone who is), do sign up to my next Love 2 Learn Sculpture, Painting, Drawing or Life Drawing courses.

Please follow me on Instagram for more regular updates and images.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Space/s

I’m looking forward to suspending my large-scale Snakes and Ladders (I) piece in Wells Cathedral and attending the Wells Art Contemporary PV this week! I’ll also be installing a giant Octopus on a 5m wall at Eastover Primary School, after which I can properly get stuck into my residency space in the Loft, above Heritage Courtyard Gallery, Wells.  All very exciting though I’ve been very busy, a bit stressed and feeling quite exhausted. I value those still times for head space and imaginings.

WAC

Having been selected as one of the installation artists for Wells Art Contemporary at Wells Cathedral, my 7m piece Snakes and Ladders (I) will be suspended in the south transept.  I can’t wait to instal it in that magnificent space this week!  

I’ve been very lucky to be able to work on it in a fabulous spacious workshop nearby, thanks to Jen Weaver and Al Crossman for the free space (available to rent - contact tractor.shed). The piece needed repasting and a few other tweaks, so I’ve spent 2 weeks sprucing it up. Thanks also to Nick Weaver for his technical assistance.

Snakes and Ladders (I) in progress

The Private View is this Friday 27 August (do come - PV invite below) and the show runs for a month. 

See previous post for more details about the work.

My work tends to gravitate upwards, downwards, or entwine through - in motion anyway.  There’s a vitality, an ongoingness, entangling or journeying - as with life.  Along these lines, I’m reading Life of Lines by Tim Ingold.

Pyre is off to Taiwan

Packing Pyre, (including counting (85 pieces), weighing, installation instructions and registering shipping on DHL took almost as long as making it!  The work’s going off to the International Biennale, National Taiwan Craft Research and Development Institute this Thursday - fingers crossed the 3 boxes arrive in tact the other end!

Loft Space (above Heritage Courtyard Gallery)

Loving my new temporary workspace in the loft above Heritage Courtyard Gallery, Wells.  It’s giving me some thinking space along with it being physically inspiring, a space to expand, and document work, in between my other projects. I’m approaching it as a short residency, leading to Somerset Open Studios, (18 Sept-3 Oct).  It’s very timely as my relatively cramped studio at home has no power at the moment!

I’ve been drawing roots with oak gall and Indian ink - the start of a series of drawings and sculptural installations.

I’m working on a new piece for an RSS exhibition at Chichester Cathedral next year - title undecided. My work is based on the plight of pangolins. Recently authorities found body parts of 15,000 dead pangolins in hundreds of bags. The slaughter of Pangolins continues.  This poaching, cruelty, slaughter and greedy profiteering from the death of these beautiful endangered creatures is breaking my heart.  Wildlife trafficking is a vile practice, and those who encourage and commission it must be stopped, shamed and brought to justice. Those who poach need to be given a better alternative - educated/enlisted to save not harm wildlife.

Of Anish Kapoor: ‘…bleeds and disgorges its subterranean innards… push boundaries between sculpture and painting into visceral new ground,… ongoing attention to the abjected body… a theme surely intensified in the pandemic era… when the sense of the vulnerability of the body has become a communal experience.’ ArtLyst, July ’21

I thought this description aptly describes what I’m trying to achieve in my new work.

In the gallery below the Loft, there’s a vibrant exhibition: Inside Out with work by Heather Wallace and Rebecca Barnard - come and visit!

Inch by IN:CH

We had a fantastic pop up event at Backwell Playhouse as part of Inch by IN:CH. It was a brilliant opportunity for dramatic lighting on our work. My piece Hope of a Tree was placed to cast interesting shadows for our shadow drawing workshops, led by Shirley Sharp and me. It was so lovely to interact with the public, who seemed to really appreciate the event. There was a great energy; a strong sense of collaboration and deep focus during the drawing sessions. 

I’m creating a slideshow of my work to be published at the end of the Inch by IN:CH project. See my slideshow of all our work for Backwell. (Photos by Linda Ashe; James Thornton).

Our next stop is a pop up event at Found Outdoors, a beautiful woodland in Erlstoke, Wiltshire on 11th September, with events, and then our finale at The Gauge Museum, West Somerset Railway (25 Sept-3 Oct).

Reimagining Nature

A couple of my small sculptures from the entanglement series, and film Life in the Undergrowth are included in Re-Imagining Nature, an exhibition curated by Zoe Li in the newly transformed gallery in Yeovil - open until 11 Sept, Wed - Fri 11-3, Sat 11-5. 

Giant Octopus

I’m on my way to finishing a giant Octopus commission for Eastover School via Spaeda Arts. Made from recycled materials, parts were created in workshops I ran with the pupils.  Looking forward to erecting it on the 5m wall as a permanent feature.

Workshops

My first workshop back at the Holburne Museum for over a year was a success. Small family groups made wire creatures. I also spent a few lovely hours at Five Trees Bowlish running a free sculpture workshop. Thanks to Shepton Mallet Town Council for funding it as part of Summer in Shepton, and thanks to Sue Ayton-Moon for the great venue and facilities, situated in a field near Shepton Mallet. Participants made a range of pieces using recycled, found and natural materials.

Hope to see you at one of my forthcoming events. See a full list here.

Welcome Spring

What a joy to have spring sunshine and bulbs growing, after such miserable cold months in confinement.  New beginnings bring hope! 

It’s surprising what can be achieved under difficult circumstances. Time in lockdown has gone fairly quickly, as I’ve been working on several projects and finding alternative work solutions, although often computer bound.

In between, I’ve been developing new work in the studio, exploring ideas through collages, maquettes, sketches, and gathering materials.  In contrast to my last piece The Fall (see previous posts), my next feels hopeful.  Ideas are developing of ascending lines expanding beyond grid-like constrictions into lightness and recovery, though precarious.  Yellow is my new colour depicting hope and optimism.  I’ve been naturally dying and hand-stitching recycled textiles, rubber, latex, and plastic as patchworks of repair.  Branching umbrella frames may become supporting skeletal structures. 

A lot of the found and recycled materials I’m using have been sourced locally or donated by friends - thanks to those who’ve helped.

Short Film

A short film about my sculptural practice using textiles has been commissioned by Art UK, working in partnership with Culture Street and Royal Society of Sculptors.  Due to covid and lockdown, it was delayed for a year.  In the end, the artist interview was conducted over Zoom and I supplied footage.  Aimed at schools, it’s one of 10 new film commissions about sculptors and their different processes, as part of a major initiative to put online UK’s sculpture collection. I’m honoured to be included in the series!

All The Colours

I’m one of the commissioned artists leading a community art project via Seed, called Art First.  We are engaging the public in Sedgemoor, especially those who travel on buses.

‘Artists Fiona Campbell, Karl Bevis, Jem Dick and Sharon Jacksties are working on three projects, which will produce artworks co-created with Buses of Somerset passengers and staff and other members of the community. The finished works will be displayed on 30 buses across Sedgemoor.  Covering multiple art forms from poetry through photography to collage, our artists will guide you through the process, giving you tips to find inspiration in your everyday lives to create something magical. All creations can be submitted and your submissions will then be combined into artworks to be exhibited on the buses and online.’

In my project All The Colours I’m inviting people to create a collage in one dominant colour, reflecting on their responses to a bus journey, the past year, a particular experience, mood, feeling, moment, personal or global memory. The images will be part of a co-created artwork which will be transformed into a hologram chameleon. This will change colours at different viewpoints and will be featured on 30 buses for passengers and community to enjoy.

I’ll be running FREE workshops, there’ll be prizes and an online exhibition.  Below is a slideshow I made to offer examples of collages in a dominant colour.

For further info and to participate please visit my page All The Colours.  If you’re based in Sedgemoor, and/or have travelled on buses in the area, please get involved and spread the word!  

Inch by IN:CH

I’m part of an artist-led travelling project Inch by IN:CH, bringing contemporary art out of galleries and into community areas across South West UK. Between May-October ’21, 11 artists will each present mixed media works including painting, light projections, assemblage and sculptural installations, transported in cases from one place to the next.  At each location artists will engage the public through activities (covid protocol in place).

The locations we’ve chosen are unexpected venues for art. One of our venues, East Somerset Railway, is in my village.  Our finale venue will be at the Gauge Museum, Bishops Lydeard Station, West Somerset Railway, the longest heritage railway in England. We will show our work in the newly restored museum, in one of two remaining Victorian Sleeper cars, and spilling out onto the platform. These popular venues for families and train enthusiasts are evocative, meaningful settings for art about transportation of ideas.

We’re so grateful to sponsors including The Arts Society, Somerset Art Works, The Gane Trust,  individuals and supportive venues: East and West Somerset Railways, Fringe Arts Bath and Found Outdoors. We’ve submitted our Arts Council funding application, so fingers crossed we receive this crucial support to bring free programming and events to mixed audiences.

Online Sculpture Course

I recently finished running my second online Sculpture Course. The focus is on nature, using recycled and found materials. Participants produced some awesome work, sourcing their own found materials, and finding so many ways to use them creatively. 

Images: Jinny Jehu; Gwynne Penny;  Barbara Griffin; Magdalena Musanovi

To see more please visit Instagram: #onlinesculpturecourse2021
Let me know if you’re interested in my next course (dates TBC).

Inspiration 

Online meetings and talks have been convenient, with the benefit of international reach. Through zoom I’ve loved connecting with fellow artists. Royal Society of Sculptors meet-ups and new weekly sculptors drawing sessions have been helpful to focus and free the mind.  We are currently working on an exciting group exhibition.

The Overstory, a book by Richard Powers, has inspired new work: There are no separable events. The bird and.. branch.. are.. linked creatures..; ‘reiterated trunks .. shooting up parallel like the fingers of a Buddha’s upraised hand.. tufted spires… swirled in the gauze of a Chinese landscape… fungi and lichen everywhere, like splatters of paint from a heavenly can’

Other relevant resources:

Tim Ingold: Facing the Anthropocene: Life is always creating itself.. Lines are animate... I’ve started Tim’s book Life of Lines, and also The Mushroom at the End of the World (Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing)

James Aldridge: Queer Rivers Art Earth: Where does a river stop? Everything is fluid, interconnecting….

Phyllida Barlow: Small works made with the minimum of ambition... Sculpture is a restless art form…

Artists inspiring me: above left to right: Giulia Cenci; Daiga Grantina; Monika Sosnowska; Janet Echelman

Other News

I’m part of the Solargraphic Society of Somerset (Mendip area) organised by Janette Kerr. I put up my pin-hole can camera with light sensitive paper in my garden and look forward to the results in 2 months.

My Bulrushes are now installed in their new home in the midlands (left: pic in snow)

Delighted that my Blackbird sculpture (commissioned by Shepton Mallet Town Council for a Bird Trail last autumn) has been selected as a permanent feature above The Art Bank entrance in the town centre.

Forthcoming Events

Inch by IN:CH a travelling project considering transition, interchange and the transportation of ideas. Various venues, South West UK, 28 May - 3 Oct 

Royal Society of Sculptors 10 gram Challenge exhibition: 28 June – 18 Sept

I’ll be giving an online talk via Red Line Art Works on 25 March, 7pm (GMT). If you’d like to join the talk, please register: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZApcuiurzkvHtFe6fjc4ZqzB2doWh5SiyNu

In support of the Arts, please visit the Art Is Essential campaign, aimed at raising awareness about the importance of the Arts to a healthy society.

This past year has been a huge jolt to us, and despite the sad and tragic happenings, I’m hopeful that we have come out of it stronger and better.

New Film, Open Studio

Preparations for Somerset Open Studios. Photo: Seamus Nicolson

During the past few months, starting in the extraordinary silence of lockdown, I created a project LIfe in the Undergrowth.  I’m excited to have just completed a film as the final outcome (watch below).  In contrast to creating sculptural installations, I’m very much at the beginning of my crossing into digital technology and film-making. This film documents my isolation project and represents my first serious experiments with film-making.

Life in the Undergrowth, Digital Film - duration 10:33 mins. Audio: The Healing, Sergey Cheremisinov

Special thanks to Arts Council England/National Lottery Emergency Response fund, Richard Tomlinson (Ignite Somerset) and Jack Robson for their support.

Time Capsules, found objects: rusty nails, plastic, ceramic fragments, glass bottles, wood, chain, teeth, bones, plant debris, lead..

In advance of finishing the film, I created Time Capsules. The found objects are attached to each other with fine copper wire, like a net, suspended on a steel structure. They were excavated from the earth in my garden, each with a story - some known and others a mystery. During lockdown I dug up a lot of soil to make space for a studio bay. Some of the objects were buried quite deep... eg: giant molars from a large animal (horse, cow, sheep, rhinoceros..?!)  I borrowed the title from a phrase Cornelia Parker used to describe her work. The objects represent a moment in time, and time passing. Everything is connected. I love the shadows, which enhance the concept of time, memory, drawings, space.

For more about the project visit Instagram @life_intheundergrowth.

My Life in the Undergrowth project will be showing alongside some of my other work during Somerset Open Studios, opening next weekend (19 Sept - 4 Oct).  You’re welcome to visit by appointment.  This sunny start to autumn is perfect for a wander in the fresh air of my garden, and safe measures will be in place in the studio: Venue 70, West Cranmore, BA4 4RH. T: 07515537224 or E: fionacampbell-art@sky.com

Glimpses of work for Somerset Open Studios. Photos: Seamus Nicolson

To see other venues visit the SAW map

My work will also be showing at Somerset Rural Life Museum for Somerset Reacquainted. The exhibition involves 63 Somerset artists’ responses to lockdown, and brings together digital images, films, writings, objects and artworks.  Open 19 Sept - 21 Nov, Wed-Sat, 10-5 (pre-book, entrance fee applies).   There will be a series of podcasts.  I’ll be talking with other artists on Fri 2nd Oct, 6-7pm - hope you can join us.

I’ve been creating online resources and workshops for various creative projects, including SAW, Art UK and Make the Sunshine (image below). Links on my Workshops page.

Last month was taken up with running my 5 week Online Sculpture Course. I had an inspiring group of people from different parts of UK and Europe.  I was thrilled with their responses, energy, imagination resourcefulness and enthusiasm. The range of processes and different outcomes was amazing (see below)! If you’re interested in doing the course next year please email me your contact details and visit instagram #onlinesculpturecourse2020.

Images (above): work by participants: L to R clockwise: Gina Glover, Nicky Oram, Jenny Graham, Sarah Herfet

Images (above) L to R:  Nicki Davey, Louise Wood, Belinda Cooper, Nicky Oram, Diana Terry, Gina Glover, Sarah Herfet, Louise Wood, Trudy Smith, Karen Chard, Sonia Hulejczuk, Maxine Alexander

Quotes from participants:

My confidence has blossomed..  I've soooo enjoyed this course! Sarah Herfet

This course gave me the inspiration and… impetus to actually… create something.  It also gave me ideas that I wouldn’t otherwise have thought about. Nicki Davey

It was a joy to find books and ideas which connected my experience as a maker within the context of contemporary fine art. Diana Terry

It has been a joy making and sharing. Nicky Oram

Brilliantly delivered by Fiona, through her weekly blogs/zoom and Whats App presentations. Gina Glover 

It’s the last week of the Royal Society of Sculptors Summer Exhibition - if you’re in London don't miss it! The Exhibition has been guest curated by Robert and Nicky Wilson, founders of Jupiter Artland. I visited it in August and loved it! It’s a really vibrant, playful visceral show with a range of large and smaller intriguing works. My piece Accretion is a tentacular form - a metaphor for waste. The show is on until 18 September, Mon-Fri, 11am-5pm, Royal Society of Sculptors, 108 Old Brompton Road, London SW7 3RA

It would be great to see you at my Open Studio.

Keep well :-)