Spring Update

Tethered Lines: Matter Becoming - solo exhibition at No.6 Bruton. Photo Russell Sach.

John Ruskin Prize Exhibition, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London

Me with Stilt Structure II. Photo Parker Harris

Since the John Ruskin Prize Exhibition at Trinity Buoy Wharf, London (29 January -21 February), featuring Stilt Structure II, I’ve had a Solo Exhibition Tethered Lines; Matter Becoming (27 February - 8 March) at No 6 Bruton, Somerset. An intimate gallery space, I made the most of the fabulous window.

Photos above by Russell Sach

I made new work for the exhibition. Unravelling the Fury, made of rusty seat springs, rope, wood, cables, steel chains, copper, aluminium, plastic, latex, rubber, foam, fabric, sisal, twine, reclaims early meanings of the serpent. Tied to the Earth, the chthonic realm, across cultures it signifies rebirth, transformation, healing, regeneration, and the cyclical unity of life and death. In matriarchal societies, serpents were worshipped. As patriarchal religions rose, and myths evolved, the serpent’s meaning was distorted: male heroism became defined by slaying it, symbolically silencing the feminine and severing ties to the land. This piece gestures towards a worldview that honours the Earth and all life, equality, alongside an underlying reflection of our waste and consumerism.

Using reclaimed materials and labour-intensive processes, the work engaged with interconnectedness, transformation, and precarity through gestures of care and repair. The show was well received:: “Magical show of work by the ever poetic and inspiring Fiona Campbell. Her work takes on the big issues - environment, waste, the power of nature, our place in it - with such an elegance and lightness of touch that you fall in love with these twisted forms made from found objects, old bits of wire and teabags and learn that there is beauty in the most unlikely of places” - Theresa Simon. I’m grateful to Russell Sach for some excellent photos, and thanks to all who visited, spent time looking, chatting, and buying. I was present at the gallery during open times and so enjoyed the conversations and connections.

Photo Russell Sach

Riot was performed in a Fashion Show (7 February) and later on display in the Costume Exhibition at the Amulet, as part of the Snowdrop Festival, Shepton Mallet. Photos above and below by Jason Bryant.

My work will be part of a group multi-disciplinary exhibition While We’re Watching by six artists who found connection through our shared work together as invigilators at Hauser & Wirth Somerset. Taking place at No 6 Bruton, again, the exhibition runs from 27 March – 6 April (Friday–Sunday, 11am–5pm), 6 High Street, Bruton, Somerset BA10 0AA. PV: Friday 27 March, 6-8pm - all welcome!

I have a few other projects coming up including the making of a large sculptural installation for Winscombe Festival, in collaboration with Tomasin Cuthbert Menes (Soup Soup Arts) and local schools.

I’m also working behind the scenes for Beyond Horizons (Sculpture in the Garden, 4 September-5 October 2026)..

If you’d like to do a course with me, I have a few starting soon with Frome Community Education: Eco Sculpture, Drawing and Creative Sketchbooking. See the full range of courses here. Book soon as number are limited.

Alternatively, my Online Sculpture Course (self-directed) is great value at £40 - take advantage before the price goes up!

For more regular updates follow my Instagram @fionacampbellartist

Spring News

Flags of the Forest, Seed Pop Up, Angel Place, Bridgwater. Photos 1-5 (above & below) by Kate Pearce

Flags of the Forest was re-created as a site-responsive installation in an empty shop space in Angel Place, Bridgwater last month, commissioned by Seed Sedgemoor. I so enjoyed spending time with the installations, welcoming and speaking to visitors, hearing their perspectives and watching their interactions. I had many stimulating conversations about art, trees, animals, recycling and ‘rubbish’ we can creatively transform. Thanks to those who visited.

I’d created a few additional elements and adaptations since its first placement in ‘23 was outdoors at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens. Being in the space all week gave me more time to consider the work and receive thoughtful feedback. I’m galvanised to add more to this installation in the future.

The commission was focussed on actively engaging people in the creative arts. I was present daily and ran a drop-in workshop. I’m hugely grateful to Seed for the commission, and for their support. It was a fantastic opportunity to recreate my 2 installations (the other in February) in the space and see them hang in a different setting/light. Each install felt a bit like a residency.

Considering Art Podcast

It was a real pleasure talking to Bob Chaundy recently about my work for his Podcast series Considering Art. We had a conversation about my background and inspiration, and how environmental issues are at the heart of my work, materials and processes. I’m grateful to Bob for inviting me. You can listen here:

Check out other artist interviews here

The Arts Society Wessex Area

Delighted to have been granted some funds by The Arts Society Wessex Area towards delivering a workshop (date TBC) for One Island - Many Visions, plus towards costs for the exhibition catalogue & symposium. I’m currently developing work for this show in Portland (6 Sept - 31 Oct). The exhibition is a collaboration with Portland Sculpture and Quarry Trust and fellow members of the Royal Society of Sculptors. I’m also working behind the scenes in the Steering Group.

My piece Riot is inspired by Maritime Sunburst Lichen (Xanthoria Parietina) growing on the rocks at Tout Quarry, their colour, folds, and radial growth. Ancient life forms of fungi, algae, and cyanobacteria in symbiosis. Created from recycled materials including beach waste, Riot is a reflection on ‘troubled beauty’, Arts Precario. Labour-intensive processes of weaving, wrapping and hand stitching refer to line as energy, tentacularity, thread as the universal component of the cosmos. A site-responsive intervention at Tout Quarry, Riot is also wearable sculpture, There will be a performance in which the human body activates the work during the exhibition.

Riot, being trialled at Tout Quarry. Photo by Russell Sach

I’m now working on the second part to it.

Spring Clean

Feeling cleansed after a big studio clear up (see below: last 2 images of the mess before..)! For a while I’ve been working anywhere but my studio, which had become a dumping ground for stuff as projects mounted up. Although I have a studio outbuilding - historically the laundry building for my village - I prefer working out in the garden especially when it’s sunny. I use a separate shed for metal/woodwork, and grateful to a neighbour Roger Spear who lets me use his large workshop for occasional jobs. Roger passed on to me an old catering tray/trolley, which I transformed into a storage shelving unit with plywood offcuts, and used some repurposed marquee poles and wood blocks to make a folder rack.

FAB

An image of ‘Sack’ has been selected for Insert There, curated by Roger Clarke, part of Fringe Arts Bath Festival ‘25. It will be displayed on a wall in 'The Street' at Bath Spa University's Locksbrook Campus, BA1 3EL. FAB runs 23 May to 7 June.

Sack 2024. Placed via AI in the industrial wasteland of Barreiro, Portugal, where the work was once destined to be sited during my PADA residency last year. AI by Ellie Forman-Peck

Workshops and Courses

I worked with approximately 90 children from St Joseph and St Teresa's Catholic Primary School creating small creatures and plant forms for a permanent artwork at their school. Looking forward to seeing it in situ soon - here are a few pics of work in progress.

My next Eco Sculpture Course with Frome Community Education starts on Wednesday 4 June, 2-4pm and runs for 5 weeks at Makers’ Yard, 37 Lower Keyford, Frome BA11 4AR. £60 + £5 materials. Book here

If you’re further afield and want to do a self-directed course along similar lines, I have an Online Sculpture Course you might like to book.

Both great value!

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Enjoy the best of Spring!