RE:COLLECTION - Regathering Social Practice

By

Eleanor Shipman

RE:COLLECTION is an investigation of where social practice sits in contemporary art, where participatory artworks created by Ellie Shipman over the last 12 years are recollected, regathered and re-presented.

RE:COLLECTION - Regathering social practice is a solo show by artist Ellie Shipman, curated by Elita Robertson, in partnership with Bricks at St Anne's House from 2nd - 11th November 2023.

RE:COLLECTION is an investigation of where social practice sits in contemporary art, where participatory artworks created by Ellie Shipman over the last 12 years are recollected, regathered and re-presented. In recollecting these artworks - often site specific commissions which have never been seen in a gallery space - the exhibition provides a space for these pieces to breathe, to come together and share a conversation for the first time.

From interactive sculptures such as The Decision Machine (2022), which will answer your questions with the crank of a handle; to How was the Birth? (2023) a quilted medical screen collecting one word birth experiences; to 100 Years of Housing (2022), co-designed archive boxes responding to and now housed in Bath’s housing archives, the artworks remain live and active, awaiting your responses.

“So often participatory works are not presented in gallery contexts, commissions are not given exhibition time and rich, engaging projects are not shared with wider audiences. RE:COLLECTION provides an opportunity to view works I have created in these contexts to come together, prompting wider questions on the position and role of participatory art in the art world, as well as reflecting on the legacy and significance of the works created at a local level.”

—Ellie Shipman, artist

This exhibition regathers artworks originally created for communities, commissioners and organisations including The University of Bristol and We the Curious; Knowle West Media Centre; Take A Part; Bath Record Office and Creativity Works amongst others. A bespoke publication of Ellie Shipman’s artworks will be launched alongside the exhibition as an archive of the process and works.

The show is curated by UWE MA Curating student Elita Robertson as part of her final project and placement at Bricks, building on her background in sociology and interest in the intersection of art and research, alternative documentation and communication methods and navigating social practice in the contemporary gallery space.

KEY DATES:

Opening night: 6 - 9pm, Thurs 2nd Nov

Open daily: 10am - 4pm, Fri 3rd Nov - Sun 11th Nov

Talk: Sat 4th Nov, 11am - 12pm, Exploring Social Practice: Talk and Q&A with Ellie Shipman and Elita Robertson

Lunch talks: 1pm daily from Weds 8th - Sat 11th Nov

Late opening: 6 - 9pm, Thurs 9th Nov

More information: Listen to A PODCAST About the exhibition

Featured

Eleanor Shipman

Ellie Shipman is a visual artist and illustrator living and working in Bristol, based in a studio at Bricks.

Ellie's work is concerned with concurrent states of being and the process of drawing out shared commonality between those dichotomies: hope and fear; isolation and togetherness; the domestic and the public; grief and joy. The liminal space where these states rebuff, align and overlap is explored, shared and reflected on through multimedia artworks using found objects, textiles, drawing, audio and installation. Ellie is also interested in what it is to be a woman; the experience of birth and new motherhood as well as notions of community; sustainability and anticipatory mourning for climate collapse.

Works are often site specific, participatory or interactive - including people in research, process and product. Eleanor regularly collaborates with researchers, scientists and fellow creatives as well as the general public and a diverse range of community groups.

Ellie studied BA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art (2008 - 11) and deepened her research into climate resilience and participatory art through undertaking a MSc Sustainable Development in Practice at UWE (2015 - 16). Ellie's background includes working in public engagement and community development roles alongside her art practice, and Ellie has been a full time freelance artist, illustrator and pattern designer since 2018.

Ellie was awarded Arts Council ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ (DYCP) funding to pursue new avenues in her creative practice in 2023 and is currently working on a year-long programme of residencies and new projects.

Ellie is a member of Spike Island Associates and a member of Spilt Milk Gallery.

Commissioners, funders and partners have included:
Arts Council England; We the Curious; The Vietnamese Women’s Museum; Pump House Gallery; The University of Bristol; Historic England; The Royal Shakespeare Company; Wellcome Trust.

Featured