Drawing down the Feminine at Bridport Arts Centre opening February 2nd – March 17th.

FINAL PV invite smaller file Bridport

I’ve been working with a range of artists, female and male, for around three years;  these artists are friends, colleagues, and former students I’ve met whilst teaching at Newlyn School of Art.  We’ve had group exhbitions at Newlyn Art Gallery and The Plough Arts Centre in the past two years. This up-coming exhibition, with a few new artists, will be the last one curated by me, as I need to concentrate on other projects, including an expansive cycle of new works emanating from experiences on Shetland.

This exhibition at Bridport Arts Centre will feature drawings, paintings, sculpture, prints, digital poetry and animation. The artists explore themes such as the human – animal relationship, mothering, the body, wisdom, memory and darkness of the body;  chance, the invisible, the holy/ancient/archaic feminine and also the gifts which come from exploring Shadow.

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I’ve just returned from Bridport; the installing of the Show, the Private View, and the walk and talk. It was three days’  hard work but it has come together into a cohesive and intense exhibition of works. I realised, when reflecting this morning about the talks we gave, that much of the work is about unearthing what is hidden/unseen/buried/discarded. I spoke about ‘leaving events’ introduced to me by archaeologists on Orkney: the ritual sculptures left for people to find inside sealed up entrances of settlements (the Ness of Brodgar). Penny Florence spoke aloud the sumptuous writing by the late and much missed Partou Zia,  and about Valerie Dalton’s work, her excavation of trauma precipitiated by the umbilical cords of dreams; Karen Lorenz spoke about memory, knowing and loss….the loss of awareness, the loss of home; Maggie O’Brien spoke about the truth behind the myth of modern stories about marriage and physical beauty; Max Burrrows spoke about the beauty of mothers hands performing seemingly unremarkable tasks; and Sally Tripptree spoke about the body, the breath, and the imprint of loss.

The talk was well attended and we are grateful for the attention they gave to each of us; workshops will follow in a month.

Return_Still009 Karen Lorenz Video still   (in progress)  Y.Gawlik-Scars1

Warrior_Survival copy Otter Rose Johns               Breathe Sally Tripptree

Jo Jewers 'Untitled (A dozen unseen ghosts)' Acrylic, paper and charcoal on board. 109x91cm £1800

The Private View, to which all are welcome, is on Friday February 2nd from 6 – 8 pm, with a short introduction from some of the artists. There will be a longer walk and talk with some of the artists on February 3rd at 11 am, for approximately one hour.

Workshops will follow in early March: Drawing Workshop with me, Kate Walters on March 4th, 1-5 pm, maximum 12 spaces; considering the animal body and drawing from within the impulses of the body.

Book binding with Karen Lorenz on Monday 5th March, 11 – 4 pm, maximum 12 spaces; and a digital poetry workshop with Professor Penny Florence, Is Form Gendered? on Saturday 10th March, 11 – 4 pm, maximum 12 spaces.

Booking through the Arts Centre www.bridport-arts.com  

https://www.bridport-arts.com/event/drawing-down-the-feminine/