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!

As Old as the Hills

Collett Park Day drop-in workshop, As Old as the Hills. Making & embedding paper with recycled/found river & sea debris. Community work will form part of our final exhibition. Photo: Kirsten Madeira-Revell & me, by Barbara Voules

As Old as the Hills is a community art project I’m co-curating with Jan Ollis. Rooted in heritage and environment, it culminates in an immersive contemporary art exhibition & events in the iconic Bauhaus building (Zig Zag), Glastonbury for Somerset Art Weeks Festival (21 Sept-6 Oct).

The project looks at climate change, floods, water pollution, and the ancient layered history of Mendip & Somerset Levels – interdependent landscapes. The exhibition takes place on the top floor of a disused space, once Morlands leather factory. I’m interested in placing art in unusual spaces that bring their own atmosphere. The Zig Zag is unique; light floods in through long banks of windows which span both lengths of the building. Thrilled to be collaborating with a great selection of artists, working in a range of disciplines from large-scale sculptural installations and textiles to photography and performance: Madi Acharya Baskerville , Nikki Allford, Fiona Campbell, Duncan Cameron, David Kefford, Di Milstein, Penelope O’Gara, Catriona Robertson, Jan Ollis, Richard Tomlinson.

Sadly we didn’t get ACE funding, but we’re very grateful to those who have supported us. Funders include The Arts Society, Gane Trust, Shepton Mallet Town Council, individual donations and a great deal of in-kind.

A range of workshops are open to the public. Jan and I had a great time running a free drop-in workshop at Collett Park Day on 8 June (pics above/below). We’ll be running more workshops in local schools. There are plenty of workshops to join, including a fabulous day at Avalon Marshes: ‘Memory, Mud, Mind’: Walk, Talk, Workshop, Sat 6 July, 10am-4pm, Glastonbury BA6 9TT.  Info & book here.

Photo credits (above): 1, 11 Barbara Voules; 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 Richard Tomlinson; 4 Jan Ollis

Work in Progress

I’m making a series of stilt structures, precarious hybrid forms around the notion of resilience, adaptation, making do. The tripod sculptures are assemblages of recycled & found mixed media, layered, stitched and patched together, advocating reuse, care and repair in the context of global consumerism and waste. They’ll be showcased in As Old as the Hills.

Stilt houses, built to avoid floods, exist on the edges of safety in slums around the world . People in Landes used to move about on stilts in boggy ground. Somali nomads transport their homes/belongings - elaborate overladen bundles - on camels (symbols of adaptability, endurance, trade routes). Growing up in Kenya, I have vivid memories of African women bent over with heavy loads piled high on their backs. My work also refers to the ancient timber Sweet Track found in Avalon marshes, Somerset, dating 3800BC. These stilt structures are a means of survival in adversity, and suggest treading the earth gently. Have always been fascinated by Dali’s elephants.

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

Stilt Structure III: maquette (above), found, recycled & waste materials: wood, steel, wire, paper, cardboard, teabags, bark, plant debris, sisal

Stilt Structure III: collage (below), found, recycled & waste materials: cardboard, paper, wood, wire, leaves, leather, plastic, bark, plant debris

Stilt Structure III (far below), work in progress, found, recycled & waste materials: wood, steel, wire, paper, cardboard, fabric, jute, bark…

With limited studio space, working large-scale has its problems. I utilise other spaces including my garden, but with such poor weather this summer in UK, I haven’t been able to work outside much. Luckily I’ve had access to a neighbour’s garage, so my latest piece is developing there.

Upcoming Exhibitions

Delighted my work has been selected for the Royal Society of Sculptors Summer Show, curated by David McAlmont. The exhibition will be held at Dora House, 108 Old Brompton Rd, South Kensington, London
SW7 3RA; 22 July-21 Sept. PV Sat 20 July, 11am-2pm.

I’ll be installing work in Truro Cathedral, Cornwall soon for Solastalgia, an exhibition curated by Summer Auty, It runs 1-14 July. 

I’ll be showing 2 drawings in Landscape (Re)View) at The Wall, Musgrove Hospital, 2 July-29 Oct, & small works at Brewhouse, Taunton in September - part of Somerset Reacquainted.

I have 3 pieces on show in The Piano Shop Bath, 1&2 Canton Place BA1 6AA. Nest, String Theory, & Starfish were created for Played and Remade using discarded piano parts. Available for sale & online.

I have some handmade books on exhibition at Create@#8, 8 Town St, Shepton Mallet, as part of Art Book Shepton. Open 14-23 June (Fri-Sun). I’ll be there on Sun 16th if you want to pop in.

1 Kenyan Tree Rubbings, graphite, paper: I made the tree rubbings in Kenya on an ACE-funded DYCP trip in ‘22. The book is special to me as it documents an important time revisiting my Kenyan roots, and seeing my Dad for the last time.

2. Fungi, paper

For more about my DYCP year see @fiona_campbell_dycp and my film.

I’m raising funds to go on a trip to Vietnam at the end of the year. Please consider purchasing something from my shop. I’ve added an Online Sculpture Course, which has no time limit (self-directed) - great value!

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!

PADA Residency

I’m half way through a PADA art residency in Barreiro, near Lisbon, Portugal. I’m embracing the rigorous schedule of work, and a massive studio alongside other inspiring artists from across the globe. Sited within a post-industrial zone, parts of which have gone to ruin through toxic contamination and bankruptcy. The dystopian wastelands a shocking, mind-opening example of the repercussions of industrial/economic growth and ‘progress’.  Pyrite was used in making fertiliser. It oxidises, creating toxic sulphuric acid. Skeletal structures, piles of waste, remnants of plastic leakage, warped and crystallised into unfamiliar forms, materials mangled and tangled. Remains of disaster. Shadows of the past. Reminder of our future..

I’m responding to the dystopian wasteland and PADA’s history as a jute warehouse. Vasco da Gama discovered India, where jute originates. Trade routes, colonisation (eg Mombasa/Malindi..) mass production, and the Carnation Revolution (‘74) ensued.

I’m making a colossal sack, and stilt structure to support it. Sack is a bodily form, bundle, container of waste, made from a patchwork of discarded materials/offcuts gathered locally, especially jute sacks. Offcuts include Indian fabric from Malindi. Grateful to @soniapicolo who helped me source waste fabric in Lisbon. Some of the patches are weavings I’ve made with stuff from the wasteland, reflecting grids in surrounds, and warp and weft of jute. Others botanically hand-dyed - all hand-stitched together.  Colours of yellow wild flowers. moss growing on concrete, reds/oranges of iron and sulphur..

In Ursula Le Guin’s The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction, the sack represents the ‘belly of the universe..a ‘womb.. tomb.. unending story.. hope’. In a preceding book, Elizabeth Fisher claims man’s ‘first cultural device was probably a recipient’ (not bludgeon).

Collecting/scavenging materials has been part of my process. For the stilt structure I hauled a 4 metre pole back along river Tagus in a storm!

We’ve also had a bit of time to enjoy eating out, listening to local fado music, and visiting exhibitions in Lisbon. I had a visit from Mark Richards (Royal Society of Sculptors), and met up with an old schoolfriend Sonia, at the Berlinde de Bruyckere exhibition at MAC/CCB. Overwhelmed by the powerful work, curated in the huge avant-garde galleries. Glorious yet repelling bodily forms.

I’ll post final pics of my PADA work in my next blog. To keep more up-to-date with my ongoings follow me on Instagram.

Upcoming Exhibitions

PADA Residency Exhibition, Rua 42, n2, Parque Empresarial da Quimiparque,
2830-904 Barreiro, Portugal; Sat 24 Feb, PV 6-9pm.

Sustainable Art Open, Atkinson Gallery, Millfield School, Butleigh Rd, Street, Somerset BA16 0YD. PV Wednesday 21 Feb, 7.15pm. Book a free slot here to see it during our open hours. Featuring artists who work with environmentally-friendly materials and incorporate sustainable practices. Open 9:30am-5pm, from Wed 21 Feb - Thurs 2 March (Closed Sun - Tues).

Casting Shadows ACEarts, Market Place, Somerton, TA11 7NB; 2 March - 6 April; with Royal Society of Sculptors members. You’re invited to meet the artists on Saturday 2nd March between 11am-1pm. The exhibition runs from 2 March - 6 April.  I’ll be showing a new piece Stilt Structure I. It would be great to see you!

Shepton Mallet Snowdrops Festival, 12-18 Feb: A giant scroll-like mixed media collage installation, with text, is spanning the galleries of the Baptist Chapel, Shepton Mallet. It’s on show from 16-17 Feb during the Festival (theme ‘Nature Unbound’). Created in a workshop with me, writer Polly Hall, and community. Poetic words were laser cut onto the finished scroll. Georgia Freely and Polly installed the work while I’m away. See full diary here. Do visit if in the area.

Delighted to announce we’ve achieved our match-funding for a new project I’m co-curating with Jan Ollis: As Old as the Hills. Thanks to: The Arts Society Wessex area, a local charitable trust, Simon & Chrisi Kennedy Paddy O’ Hagan, & Ben Malin. Fingers crossed our ACE application is successful.. Residencies will lead to an immersive exhibition and events in the historic Zig Zag building, Glastonbury for Somerset Art Weeks Festival ’24. Rooted in heritage and environment, with community engagement, we have some excellent artists on board. Do follow our new instagram account.

Really pleased with exploration and outcomes from participants of my Online Sculpture Course - see their work below:

Happy New Year!

Stilt Structure, maquette, found & recycled materials, ‘23

Looking back on 2023, I’m grateful that my Arts Council England DYCP award enabled me to complete major new pieces, exhibited in some fantastic settings. I also appreciate all the support and encouragement from so many wonderful people. It’s a tough juggling act surviving and thriving as an artist - hats off to all creatives who keep at it, pushing boundaries.

Residency and Solo in a large disused shop space Create@#8, Somerset, ‘23. Photo Russell Sach

Above and Below, created during my residency, ‘23. A response to the entanglements of matter. Reclaimed & found materials, each with a story

Me with work, The Fall, detail. Photo Russell Sach

Flags of the Forest began as an indoor piece. Photo Russell Sach

Flags of the Forest developed into an ambitious outdoor installation for Wander_Land at Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens with Royal Society of Sculptors members, ’23. Photo Russell Sach

Above and Below, Tremenheere Gallery, with assisted curation by Martin Holman.  Loved working with the steering group on Wander_Land. Photos Russell Sach

I’m currently working on a series of small sculptures and collages. I’ve been thinking about precarious stilt structures, and resilience.  Looking at overladen camels of nomadic Somali tribes (camel = symbol of adaptability, endurance, trade routes), boats and homes on stilts, and French shepherds who walked the bogs on stilts. In our unstable climate of floods, famine, overconsumption, and waste escalating in the name of ‘progress’, these hybrids - part vessel, house, creature - feel relevant.  I plan to make large sculptures based on some of these ideas.

Above: collages of tall thin lines supporting stacked assemblages and heaped bundles, made of discarded materials (paper, plant debris, found wood, textiles..)

Upcoming:

I’ve been planning and fund-raising for a new project I’m co-curating with Jan Ollis: As Old as the Hills. Residencies will lead to an immersive exhibition with events in the historic Zig Zag building, Glastonbury for Somerset Art Weeks Festival ’24. Rooted in heritage and environment, with community engagement, we have some excellent artists on board. Fingers crossed we receive grants to make it the best we can. If you’d like to contribute, please let me know!

I still have a few spaces on my forthcoming online sculpture course (8 Jan-11 Feb).  If you’d like to join let me know asap!

Running a Free workshop with writer Polly Hall, part of the Snowdrops Festival ‘Nature Unbound’ (Feb ‘24) to create a giant scroll-like mixed media collage installation, with text, to span the galleries of the Baptist Chapel. 20 Jan, 10am-4pm, Create@#8, 8 Town St, Shepton Mallet. Bring your own lunch. Free but please book via eventbrite as places are limited.

Back to Bath College next week running various short courses (sculpture, painting, drawing and life drawing, in case you’re interested in joining)..

Next month I’ll be off to Portugal for a PADA art residency. I’m looking forward to the creative challenges and adventure.

My work will be featuring in Casting Shadows ACEarts, Somerton, 2 March - 6 April ‘24, with Royal Society of Sculptors members.

At the end of last year I gave a talk, Matter Ongoing, focusing on my Dust of Stars installation for the Hatch exhibition ‘Death and Microwaves’, and other recent work.  The live talk is now published online (thanks to Elaoise Benson for filming).

Here’s to peace, care and creativity in 2024!