New Work in Progress

Stilt Structure II (work in progress), found, recycled & waste materials: wood branches, coir, copper wire, handmade naturally dyed & recycled fabric, leather, plastic netting, polyester stuffing, jute, sisal, wool, thread, nylon tights

I’ve been creating hybrid forms around the notion of resilience, adaptation, making do. These precarious, awkward sculptural assemblages incorporate hand-stitched and woven textiles, which carry histories of land, past lives, labour, craft, trade routes, consumerism and waste. Labour-intensive processes relate to care and repair.

Grateful to Roger Spear for the use of his wood workshop and technical assistance.

As Old as the Hills

I’m co-curating a project As Old as the Hills, rooted in heritage and environment, highlighting issues of sustainability. It culminates in a contemporary art exhibition plus events for SAW Festival in the Bauhaus building, Glastonbury. 10 artists will create site-responsive work, some with the community, developing collaborative art: installation, sculpture, textiles, film, photography, performance. Our artworks will respond to place, deep time, climate change: floods, water pollution, and precarity of the peat bogs. The project will be approached as a collective conversation. We want to celebrate biodiversity in the levels & marshes, re-framing the notion ‘as old as the hills’ as forward-thinking rather than anti-progressive.

Upcoming Drop-in Workshop at Collett Park Day, Shepton Mallet, 8 June, with me & Jan Ollis making simple paper casts and embedding river & sea debris. All day; all welcome! Work made will be part of the final As Old as the Hills exhibition.

Awaiting news on our ACE project grant application; work + events will be scaled according to funds. Visit @as.old.as.the.hills for more about the project and my Artist Instagram Takeover this week.

Played and Remade (launched this week)

Thrilled to be part of a new collaborative art & music project with The Piano Shop Bath. Discarded piano parts have been upcycled and transformed into artworks. My 3 pieces Nest, String Theory, & Starfish are for sale. All artworks are available to view online and in The Piano Shop Bath, 1&2 Canton Place BA1 6AA. See article in The Guardian and visit @playedandremade for more info.

Nest, for Played and Remade

Elysia

In April I collaborated with dance artist Vanessa Grasse on her Elysia R&D project in a residency at Create@#8, Shepton Mallet for a week. We collected materials on walks, hand dyed natural recycled fabric remnants with homemade botanical inks, and made eco sculptural wearable artworks. The work relates to hybridity, interconnection between the human and non-human world. The name’s inspired by Elysia chlorotica, a sea slug with plant-like qualities - living testament to hybridity and symbiosis.

It was fascinating creating sculptural textiles to move with the body, and see elements in action.  We shared work in progress on our last day, encouraged people to make a small part, and were treated to a performance - those watching were transfixed. See more in my previous blog.

Elysia, work in progress

Upcoming

Solastalgia Exhibition, Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, 1-14 July. This follows an excellent publication about Environmental art, edited by Summer Auty.  I’ll be showing Glut and Pyre.

Site visits for future projects

Tout Quarry, Portland; Avalon Marshes; Bridies Mount; Mendip Hills

Take a look at my website additions, and follow my instagram channel for more regular updates

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!

Dust of Stars

Work in progress: Dust of Stars, for Hatch. Found, discarded and recycled materials: wood, metal, wire, rope, twine, glass, plastic, rubber, miscellaneous debris and objects.

I’ve created an installation in a disused barn for an exhibition Death & Microwaves, Hatch, Somerset. Enjoyed the freedom to be experimental in a large space, play with shadow, and take a line for a walk, working with my collection of salvaged materials and objects. Regarding the value we give to different materials, I’ve re-used old work and things which often end up in waste piles, what I already have.

Anselm Keifer speaks of the detritus he collected as ‘an incessant metabolism, the beginning of a rebirth.’ The creative cycle,  the ‘ceaseless shuttling back and forth between nothing and something, a constant going from one state to the other’, is synonymous with life and death. Each merges into the other with no real defining point, a cyclical persistence. Considering this and the magnitude of our universe, what is living and what is dead?  As matter is ongoing, is this stuff alive?  Life comes from the dust of stars, and we return to dust. According to Carl Sagan: ‘The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff.’

Death & Microwaves, Hatch, Langport, Somerset, Oct 27 - 12 Nov. ‘Like the Dadaists, whose name came by stabbing a knife into a French-German dictionary pointing to the word dada (hobby-horse), the title for our upcoming exhibition arose from two spontaneous and juxtaposing conversations around a dinner table.’ Book to visit. Exhibition late opening 3 & 10 Nov, from 4.30pm. Tea & cake 5.30pm. Artist Talks 6pm. Come to my talk on 10 November! Georgina Towler and I will each be discussing our work on show. See here for more.

Somerset Open Studios ‘23

A few more pics from my Open Studio event, which ended at the beginning of this month. Some days were magical, with visitors, sunshine, and butterflies galore. Other days wind and rain lashed at the outdoor work, activating the flags. Great to have sold a few pieces and receive quality feedback. Loved welcoming people - thanks to all who visited!

Resurrection., on show in my garden. Photo credit Andy Ladhams; thumbnail pics above: 1-5 Rich Cassidy; 6 Andy Ladhams

I have a small sculpture Roots in ACEarts Open Exhibition. The Meet the Artists event was a great start to the show. Lovely to catch up with so many artists, and see the wide selection of artworks. Runs 14 Oct-11 Nov, 10-5, Tues-Sat, Somerton, Somerset.

My work is currently on show at Stone Lane Gardens Sculpture Exhibition 2023, Chagford, Devon until 31 Oct..

Loved making a small Pangolin sculpture for Faber Books. As part of a campaign to launch the paperback ‘The Golden Mole and Other Vanishing Treasure’ by Katherine Rundell, Faber Books is working with independent, sustainable artists on bespoke pieces inspired by animals in the book. My obvious choice was a pangolin, most trafficked mammal in the world. I have a particular passion for their plight. Many people aren’t aware of what they are and how endangered they’re becoming. They are such docile, shy creatures, and it’s a tragedy that they are slaughtered for their only protection - their scales.

Pangolin, found and recycled materials: copper and steel off-cuts, wire, aluminium & plastic bottle tops, buttons, beads, wood, twine, shells.

I’ve been leading workshops with young people via YMCA/SAW. I’m also teaching art at Bath College: sculpture, drawing & painting, and life drawing courses. It’s been a busy initiation, with heavy admin, training and prep involved. Finding the juggling quite exhausting, but it helps pay the bills and support my art practice.

Looking forward to a PADA residency in February, and seeking help to fund this great opportunity. If you can support in any way, please click on the link below.

Donate

Autumn News

4 photos above by Andy Ladhams

Mycelial Landscape, botanical inks (oak gall, avocado pit, onion skin, buddleia flower) on paper

Open Studio

The past month has been largely dedicated to preparing for my Open Studio event, (part of Somerset Open Studios), and welcoming visitors in the opening week. Thanks to Nigel Evans and Jason Nosworthy for their help with the install of some of my work. There’s quite a lot to see, both inside and out.

I’ve so enjoyed having relaxed conversations with visitors of all ages, some from out of county, a few from abroad. I’ve been struck by emotional, visceral responses to my work: sadness, joy, empathy, discomfort, appreciation, recalled memories, and references to other artists’ work, for which I’m grateful. It’s been a great opportunity to see my work from different viewpoints, through visitors’ perceptions and my own, enhanced by various weathers and times of day. See some of the visitors’ comments below.

There is one more week left, so if you haven’t visited, please do if you can. My studio and garden are open to visitors daily until 1 October, 10-5 at SAW Venue 12, Laundry Cottage, Cranmore, nr Shepton Mallet BA4 4RH.  Follow the yellow signs!

Upcoming exhibitions and residencies

I’m thrilled to have been selected for a PADA residency next year in Portugal - more info to follow!

Delighted my piece ‘Roots’ has been selected for ACEarts Open ’23, Somerton, 14 Oct-11 Nov, 10-5 Tues-Sat.

Roots, reclaimed materials: wire, sisal, plant fibres, twine, cotton, 64 (h) x 47 x 35cms

I will also be taking part in Hatch, at a Secret Barn Exhibition, 27 Oct-12 Nov, 11-4 Fri-Sun.

My work is currently on show at Stone Lane Gardens Sculpture Exhibition 2023, Chagford, Devon, 1 June-31 Oct.

I ran a couple of eco sculpture workshops with scholars at Millfield School using recycled and found materials, related to the school’s current art and climate change theme. I loved the varied, imaginative processes and outcomes.

I’ve been making a set of copper bowls for Core by Clare Smyth. The 3 Michelin star restaurant in London, currently under refurbishment, has an emphasis on natural, sustainable food. Thanks to East Somerset Railway for use of their benchspace.

I will soon be teaching some Love2Learn Art courses at Bath College - Sculpture (Tues eves, Wed daytime, Life Drawing (Thurs) and Painting (Thurs eves), starting in the week of 9 October. If of interest, do get in touch.

Hope you get to some of these events and wishing you a happy autumn!

New Work on Show for Wander_Land, Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens

Flags of the Forest, reclaimed and found materials, 2023.. Photo Russell Sach

After months of prep and an intense week installing my work is now on show in Wander_Land, a large scale artist-led group exhibition of new sculpture at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens and Gallery, Penzance, Cornwall. The exhibition is about landscape and wandering, and includes 28 artists from Royal Society of Sculptors - open daily 1 July - 5 Aug, 11-4. Closing Event 5 Aug 11-4. The show spans several spaces inside and out. Works range in style and materiality, some pushing sculpture to its edges. It’s been a joy working together alongside great colleagues, and behind the scenes with steering group Seamus Moran, Mark Richards, Ann-Margreth Bohl, and curator/writer Martin Holman. See more here. Our Opening Evening was followed by a busy first weekend with Artist Talks. You can listen to artists talk about their work in a series of podcasts led by Doug Burton. Mine is here.

I created 2 pieces: Flags of the Forest (outdoors) and Above and Below (indoors).

Flags of the Forest. Photo Russell Sach

Flags of the Forest. Photo Barbara Beyer

Art writer Martin Holman, who assisted us with the curation, wrote in his introduction to the show:

‘Fiona Campbell’s ‘Above and Below’ distils that essentialness of the all-round effect of nature and transports it into the gallery as if challenging the enclosure that comes with architecture.’

‘The thicket of stem-like upright forms and trailing translucent pennants on the grass bank… suggests another way marker or a minor encampment of a travelling band. At the same time as these colourful ideas emerge, others focused on sculptural properties like line, volume, space and surface occur. The piece assembles a wide array of natural matter and woven fabrics acquired in all manner of exchange and appropriation, or bring obliquely to mind the pattern of commerce, profit and exploitation in the manufacture of fashion items for western consumption.’ (Flags of the Forest).

Grid images below: Flags of the Forest installation process. Photo credits: 4,5,6,7,8,9,24,29 Barbara Beyer

Flags of the Forest. Photos (above x 2) by Russell Sach

Photo Barbara Beyer

Visitors’ silent walk to see Flags of the Forest before Artist Talks. Photo David Bird

Above: visitor with Flag

Left: photo by Jane Jobling

Flags of the Forest took almost a year to make, in between other work. Inspired by walks in woodlands, it was developed from an indoor piece to a large outdoor installation. The flags celebrate bio-diversity, hopeful of nature being more cared for, and thriving. The work includes tall heavy scrap metal and found wood components with fragile hand-stitched patchworks of semi-translucent textiles elements - some I’ve botanically dyed, eco-printed or embedded with found objects collected on walks. It’s a first for me - and a steep learning curve - to include a water feature as part of an installation. Labour-intensive processes included digging a ditch/pond/water feature and carrying many buckets of water uphill…  Have enjoyed seeing the work activated by wind, rain and sunshine.  It tinkles, reflects in the inky water, and casts strong shadows. Have loved chatting to visitors and their dogs. I couldn’t dream of a better view for this work - across the sea to St Michael’s Mount, a tidal island, place of pilgrimage and the inspiration for the show.

Above and Below is a response to the entanglements of matter, rhizomic systems and debris that make up the strata we walk on. Interconnected lines of life, in a process of becoming, growing, ‘frothing and tangling and fusing.. layering and layering and layering…..’ (Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life). ‘Fungal networks lace woodland soil… slow stories… making and remaking…. Vascular systems of forest wisdom.’’ (Robert Macfarlane, Underland).

Above and Below, reclaimed and found materials including metal, wood, insects, twine, tree bark, pods, fishing net, roots, grasses, bones, pondweed, nest, aluminium, sisal,, botanically dyed fabric, wax, 2023

Above and Below, Wander_Land. Photo Russell Sach

Images above: Above and Below install, Opening Evening, Artist Talk and exhibition overview. Photo credits: 1,3 Mark Richards; 4 Rob Marshall; 5,10,11 Barbara Beyer; 8 Jane Jobling; 9,20 Seamus Moran; 14,19 Russell Sach; 16 Doug Burton; 17 Jo Hague.

Thanks to:

Jason Nosworthy and Mike Belcher for helping me install; Seamus and Jo Moran for their hospitality all week during and post install; Jane Jobling and other exhibiting artists; Neil Armstrong & team at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens; Martin Holman for his help curating; Arts Council England for my DYCP award which enabled me to develop this work to an ambitious scale; Mark Devereux Projects for mentoring support this year.

If you haven’t yet, do visit!  And see @wanderland2023 for more..

My year of ACE DYCP has now come to an end, but I will be continuing in the same vein towards a more sustainable practice, taking risks, exploring and developing further.

I was delighted to see my work settled in its new home. Above and Below I (mixed media collage) looks fabulous framed up so beautifully, and in a perfect spot. I’ll now be focusing on new work for Somerset Open Studios (16 Sept - 1 Oct). In the meantime, if you’d like to purchase any of my works please visit my shop.

Above and Below 1, mixed media collage