Visually, I am interested in surfaces, depth, texture and the illusion of the 2D. Touch and movement, that are sometimes complemented by a quiver in the aesthetic action of stillness, help me to navigate around, in and out of the figurative.  

I have a fascination with ‘realness’ and the constructed human environment. My ongoing thinking about perception has led me to be influenced by historical philosophies of the mind and body, scientific rationale and theories of truth and fact, Phenomogical perspectives and psychological studies. As well as visual artists such as Bridget Riley, Helen Chadwick, Sara Suz, and Joan Jonas are texts by Rosalind Krauss, Roland Barthes, Pamela Lee, Jonathan Cary, Eileen Myles and Simone Weil. 

 This body of work aims to explore the often colliding experience of the internal self and the external environment. Current works attempt to express the ‘dead’ or ’non’ space that sits between the internal/ external - the physical and imagined, lost and found and the false pause of time. I use machines (photocopier, screen printing and Adobe Photoshop) to help me occupy this space. I give over to the function of the machine to interrogate the unknown or unpredictable. Of course, I have some control as I have a long-standing relationship with these machines/ processes. I am also interested in the supposed life of the machine. The electricity that runs them and how they can be switched off resonates the ‘non’ space. I am interested in the artificial light that the machines use or produce and the translation of the colour of this light into chemical pigments. There is potential for miscommunication, misprinting and missing parts of images, a loss of direction. The common and differing qualities of printed paper and cloth are an integral part of this work. 

The courses that support this work have been:

Life Drawing and Painting, The Writing of Victorian Women, Therapeutic Yoga, Printed Textiles, Stitch & Embellishment, and Printmaking: Photopolymer & Acid Etching. 

Visits: 

Study Trip to Amsterdam (Eye Film Musuem, Stedelijk Museum, Foam & Textiles Museum, Tilburg)

Research trips to swimming pools, ponds and beaches across London and the south coast

 < JENNY BELL