CPRA Grant

Exploring Identity and Access Through Sensory-Inspired Art, Autistic Women and Public Space

I am delighted to share that I will be creating a new body of work comprising screen prints and artist books, thanks to the generous support of the Creative Practice Research Academy (CPRA) grant. This project will explore the profound impact of heightened sensory processing on women’s identity and how it influences their access to, and engagement with, public spaces.

Through this work, I aim to ignite important conversations surrounding disability, public access, and gender. My creative practice acts as visual elicitation—a means of sparking dialogue. To inform the project, I have begun engaging with autistic women via my social media platforms, inviting them to share their experiences of ‘otherness’ in social spaces. These candid and often deeply personal perspectives are shaping both the aesthetics of the prints and artist books and the overall direction of the project.

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30th September 201915th October 2019

Perceptions

An exhibition by technicians ‘Perceptions’ at the PR1 Gallery.

‘Perceptions’, an exhibition by University of Central Lancashire technicians, opened on the 20th September 2019 in UCLan’s PR1 Gallery.

Curated by darkroom specialist Joanna Garrett, the exhibition highlights works by the University’s Creative Industries Support Technicians.

It has been a great experience showing previously unseen works along with my new book series ‘The Gaps Between‘. New works include screen prints made using MRI data from recent scans at the Center for Neuroimaging Sciences at King’s College London. (Read more about that here.)

Other works include a print from my series ‘Location Adrift‘ an experimental darkroom project. Through this project, I am exploring feelings of disorientation and dissociation that occur whilst in liminal places.

UCLan's Art Gallery Exhibition opening night at the PR1 Gallery — The Gaps Between Book Display

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17th August 201916th August 2019

Perceptions at PR1 Gallery

‘Perceptions’, an exhibition by UCLan technicians at the PR1 Gallery.

I am proud to be showing new artworks in ‘Perceptions’; an exhibition in the PR1 Gallery. The exhibition opens at 5 pm on the 20th of September 2019. I will be showing new books in the ‘Fractured Self’ series along with new works from my colleagues.

Perceptions an exhibition at the PR1 Gallery — Artwork by Rick Healey

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19th November 201819th November 2018

North

I feel so privileged to be mentioned in Volume 4 of ‘North’ as part of Jo Garrett’s wonderful interview on the darkroom.

North Magazine, Volume 4 featuring Jane Elizabeth Bennett and Jo Garrett — North Magazine, Volume 4 Jo Garrett’s Interview featuring Jane Elizabeth Bennett

I love the way that Jo talks about the magic of the darkroom, the physical interactions between chemistry and light, it is alchemy and I adore it. I think it is so easy to disassociate the physicality of making work from the final outcome which often ends up, framed and pristine, on a white wall.

When I’m working in the darkroom with Jo, I can relax. We often discuss the crossovers and co-dependencies of printmaking and photography. How each process informs, shapes and directs the evolution of the other, while still remaining very separate artforms.

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14th June 201815th June 2018

‘Masters’ at Artlab

Creative Letterpress with David Armes at Artlab CPS 2018, Masters

Artlab Contemporary Printmaking Studio has recently run a series of three masterclasses in Printmaking entitled ‘Masters’.

I have been looking forward to the ‘Masters’ masterclasses for some time. Anyone that knows me well will know how much I love to ‘upskill’. The ‘Masterclasses’ were a great opportunity to network with some very experienced artists and expand my own knowledge.

Bronwen Sleigh’s Two Plate Softground Masterclass

Sleigh’s research and portfolio are extensive, and her workshop was as enjoyable as it was informative. The aim of the workshop was to explore methods of drawing a composite image over two soft-ground plates and then correctly register them to print on the star wheel press.

Two Plate Etching with Bronwin Sleigh, Drawing Studio, Artlab 2018

The group prepared each plate, de-greasing and coating them with a traditional softground wax, once the plates had been prepared they were etched in copper-sulphate and cleaned in preparation for inking and printing.

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