Artist Bio

I’m a mixed-media artist currently based in the seaside town of Folkestone, Kent, where I grew up. I studied Fine Art at Canterbury College and then Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College.

My work, which is both abstract and representational at the same time, is a direct reflection of how I live in and process the world through my mind, body and emotions. In recent years I have exhibited regularly in group and solo exhibitions locally, and in Iowa, USA, where I lived for some time. Huge moves and life changes, living in two very different cultures and places, have impacted my sense of self and my artwork, and have fed my curiosity for adventure and the unknown.

Outside of my arts practice, I have worked in many jobs over the years, including art technician, labourer, fitness instructor and personal trainer, but no job has ever meant as much to me as being a life model has (22 years and counting now). I love being surrounded by the creativity, being part of the creative process, and this understanding from both sides of the easel informs my own work.

When I’m not at work in the studio, you will usually find me fulfilling my physical and mental needs by enjoying nature, hiking in the local woods, or weight training. When I need to switch off altogether, I escape into other worlds through film and animation.

Work With Us

Galleries

Artist Statement

My work explores the different ways in which I process emotions and experiences, intuitively working with my mind, body, and feelings. I combine collages, drawings and sculptures to capture states of change, working at different speeds, moving through hyper-focused and hyper-active states of being while reflecting on issues of identity.

Abstract marks made in hyper-active moments, often drawn in states of self-imposed sensory deprivation, register intense emotional experiences. In calmer and more hyper-focused periods, I create more literal and representational imagery. I am not precious about my work. I will tear it apart and join it back together to make something different, something better, just as we are forced to do in our lives, ripping it up and starting again. In the process, I reflect on the parts of ourselves that we want to show, and the parts we want to hide, and how these can shift or swap places over time.

The intensity of the work rewards sustained attention, inviting the viewer themselves to move between and combine different ways of seeing and sensing. It offers insights into how the artist constructs an identity, and suggests ways that the viewer might make connections of their own to these processes. 

Contact

If you’re interested in purchasing my work. Please fill out this form to inquire.

beckybeckettart@gmail.com