About

Bev is a mixed-media artist living in Thornton. She is a studio holder at South Square and a member of Unit 9, a group of artists who show in the Gallery Upstairs. Unfurling is her third solo show as a member of Unit 9.

One of the definitions of the word ‘Unfurling’ that Bev identified is ‘to arrange the parts (of something) over a wider area’.

During the past 18 months, Bev has made frequent journeys between Bradford and Northumberland to support family. The work in this exhibition was created at a time when so much seemed to be out of her control – with the death of her father, her own chronic illness and emergency surgery of another close family member.
The process of creating ‘Unfurling’ provided the grounding that she so needed during this period as a result of being constantly in motion, travelling hundreds and hundreds of miles
between the land and the sea over many months. For Bev, making art is a mechanism to manage big emotions about what is happening in her life and in the world. It’s also about navigating the process of being human.

This period led to a fascination of what happens when, we, as humans, attempt to give up control and allow things to unfurl.
‘Unfurling’ is about creatively letting go and to see what happens with each mark, texture and application using layers of paint and mixed-media through a process of creative play. For the viewer, the abstraction allows the brain to interpret what it sees and to
find their own meaning. New possibilities for both the viewer and the artist emerge from
this process.