|
To see paintings, drawings
and other images click here.
and other images click here.
I am a visual artist and I often find ways of showing my work theatrically. I work with a broad spectrum of people and am particularly interested in those who find themselves on the margins for one reason or another.
We are currently booking a national tour with The Tragic and Disturbing Tale of Little Lupin, a promenade performance which tells the tale of a girl who is not like others and how life in the wild can take unexpected and sometimes rather unpleasant turns. With its roots in the dark, rich soil of fairy tales the show is suitable for people who have ever strayed off the path and into the woods. With financial assistance from Arts Council England and Bristol City Council, Little Lupin was one of Theatre Bristol/Bristol Old Vic live performance commissions.
I am the Creative Agent at Speedwell Nursery School in Bristol where I have a strategic role, currently focusing on how we can creatively engage parents and carers in their children's learning. I regularly make presentations about my work at Speedwell, most recently for RiO at Dartington Hall, the National Conference hosted by Redcliffe Childrens Centre and at Bristol Early Years Conference 2009.
I have an MA in Fine Art in Context in which I researched folk stories and the social production of fear.The tragic and disturbing tale of Little Lupin from Luci Gorell Barnes on Vimeo.
You can see some of the show and hear about the background of it by visiting Bristol Old Vic's online archive at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMy1cZ_7K8cExamples of work
Residencies and mentoring
| 2010 | Visiting lecturer at UWE on the Graduate Certificate Participatory Arts and Media course at the School of Creative Arts. |
| 2009 | Little Lupin Conception, animation, design and direction. |
| 2009 | Artsmatrix I was a mentor on The Creative Advisors Scheme, a flexible bespoke mentoring scheme for artists, curators, producers and arts managers/administrators living in the South West. I am mentoring a writer who is developing a creative approach to delivering disability awareness training as well supporting his creative work. |
| 2005 - 2009 | Speedwell Nursery School I work with children, staff, parents and carers often using my own images as a starting point. I have developed a programme with the staff in which they explore their own creative practice and see how it feeds back into their personal well-being and their work in the nursery. |
| 2004 - ongoing | Touring Bookshed a tiny room with a timeless atmosphere which houses a small collection of my artist's books. Made welcome by the Keeper - performed by Brenda Waite - people visit the room, two at a time, to enjoy the books they have chosen. Bookshed was made with financial assistance from the Arts Council of England, and amongst other places, it has appeared at Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham, xtrax in Manchester and The National Theatre in London. |
| 2007 - 2008 | STYAB an arts mentoring scheme for young people funded by Creative Partnerships Bristol. The scheme supported seven young people through three mentors: Shawn Sobers, Kamina Walton and myself. |
| 2007 | Islington Council Illustrations for Islington Council's leaflet for their specialist team working with failed and destitute asylum seekers in London. |
| 2005 - 7 | ignite! Workshop faciltator and mentor on NESTA's programme for innovative young people. |
| 2006 | No Direction Home with financial assistance from the Arts Council of England I explored ways of integrating animation into my practice, and worked with asylum seekers, Gypsies and settled communities on ideas and images about belonging and dislocation. |
| 2005 | The Miracle Show a touring production based on stories from asylum seekers. This was a collaboration with Desperate Men street theatre company, with myself as researcher, director and installation artist. |
| 2004 - 5 | Lead artist on The Imagination Project a year's research residency for Creative Partnerships at Speedwell Nursery School. Exploring ways of supporting children's imaginations via hands-on sessions and peer observation. |
| 2003 | Moonwalk a guided moonlit tour through urban woodlands, looking at fear through metaphors from fairy tales. Commissioned by the Forest of Avon as part of their Marking the Ways environmental art programme. |
| 2002 | pARTicipate funded projects: The Hope Project a performance and bookmaking project with young women at HM Prison Eastwood Park working with musician Shirley Pegna.The Travellers Art Project in which I worked with metal artist Kevin Hughes and residents of the Winterbourne Travellers’ site to create public art works for the site and an exhibition of photographs. |
| 2001 - 2 | Voices and Choices 6 month residency for 'acta in which I ran visual art workshops for adults with learning difficulties, to create an installation for the Arnolfini, Bristol. We set up a working studio in the exhibition space in which participants continued to develop their work and visitors were invited to add to the show. |
| 2000 - 1 | Mother and Child 2000 A residency for The Holburne Museum of Art with students from Bath University. Starting with a prayer tree, on which the students offered their thoughts and feelings about mothering, I then made Advent Calendar, which now forms part of the museum’s permanent collection. |
Solo exhibitions
| 2008 | Domestic Animals | Paintings, drawings and artists' books at The Octagon Visual Arts Centre, Thornbury |
| 2007 | A flight of ideas | Installation at Centrespace, Bristol showing my residency work at Speedwell Nursery School |
| 2000 - 1 | Immaculate Conceptions | Paintings at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath |
| 1999 | Sacred Journeys | Exhibition on buses for Bath Fringe Festival |
| 1999 | Paintings | Prema Arts Centre, Uley, Gloucestershire |
| 1995 | Art Touring Avon | Tour of venues including schools and hospitals. |
Group Exhibitions
| 2009 | The Lay of the Land | 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe |
| 2008 | Journeys | Pierian Centre, Bristol |
| 2007 | Things that go bump in the night | 20-21 Visual Arts Centre, Scunthorpe |
| 2007 | Homecoming | Grant Bradley Gallery, Bristol |
| 2007 | Rich and Strange | University of Wales, Newport's Caerleon Campus |
| 2005 | Celebrating Sanctuary | Pierian Centre, Bristol for Refugee Week |
| 2003 | Bristol Art Library | Inclusion of artist's book Mr Pin |
| 2001 | Mother and Child | The Holburne Museum of Art, Bath |
| 1998 | Magic and Miracles | The Black Swan, Frome |
| 1998 | Open drawing | Brewery Arts Centre, Cumbria |
| 1993 | Womanmade | The Coopers Gallery, Bristol |
| 1992 | Open Exhibition | Oriel Mosytn, Llandudno |
| 1992 | The Female Line | Women’s Artwork, Bristol |
Directing
| 2005 | Desperate Men | The Miracle Show |
| 2003 | Bongo Bolero | Award winning (and very funny) acrobatic duo |
| 2002 | Nofit State Circus | Devising for big top touring show |
| 2001 | Bus Jam | Performance on buses, for Bath Literature Festival |
 |
| City of Sisters (No 4 of 6 paintings using landscape as a metaphor for portrait). Acrylic on canvas |
 |
| Pinion Charcoal and gesso on printed text |