The exhibition Actions at The Bluecoat in January of this year introduced London-based artist Beverley Bennett to Liverpool. Her work incorporates principles of erasure,memorability and gesture in delicate pieces constructed from torn paper and pins, and equally in gestural yet diagrammatic drawings that have been said to recall Constructivism.
In fact, these drawings are simply born of a desire to fully explore what drawing is and what it can be, which is why although she is by no means a performance artist, Bennett describes her work as more than just an end result on paper. She sees her creative process as a series of “acts of play that evolve into ritualistic, performative, labour intensive actions, generating a greater understanding of the processes of making, allowing the 'visual' to become secondary.”
In response to this, Process presents Bennett’s creative ritual as more than mere preparation. It introduces the process as a truly engaging element of her body of work and re-establishes its place at the forefront of her practice. To do this, another creative process is used. A newly commissioned film by documentary filmmaker Timothy Knights shows a labour-intensive artistic representation of Bennett’s studio ritual, the film gives as much insight into Knights’ creative process as Bennett’s. As the viewer engages with the film, the awkward angle at which they are forced to watch leaves a physical memento of the exhibition; a strain that empathises with the exertion of Bennett’s process as they engage with her new and existing work.
Exhibition curated by Davinia Gregory
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