Digging for Victory is an exhibition of art, photos and zines by a group of artists & author friends, organised by Steve Brown. The title is not a reference to allotments but an allusion to a time when everyone pulled together in difficult circumstances. Today is a time of great uncertainty, and our exhibition is a coming-together of art from a diverse group of friends.
Steve Brown - Steve graduated from Plymouth College of Art in 2017. He organised a group exhibition for Art Week Exeter in 2018, from which has evolved a monthly radio show on Phonic FM and Mixcloud, entitled ‘Exeter’s Vanished Rock Venues’. His ‘Digging for Victory’ installation was originally shown, in a different configuration, at the 2018 Plymouth Art Weekender.
Whitney-Anne Baker - Whitney is an artist whose work includes physical and digitally created collages and the use of soft materials. She picks away at the vacuous, glossy world of popular culture and the urban and emotional alienation that underlies it. Her work has been characterised as dystopian kitsch.
Cress de la Fosse - Cress graduated from Plymouth College of Art in 2017 and is now studying for an MA in Theatre Practice at Exeter University. Her work is often performative but she also uses wax and other media in static exhibitions.
Sue Freestone - Sue graduated from Winchester School of Art in 1997. She explores her own shamanic spiritual practice using found objects, combined with natural materials. Her concerns are the environment, women’s issues and our dis‑connection from nature.
David Harbott - David makes art which engages with the local community. His work has included BGS350 - a project which recorded the impact of the rising sea level upon endangered bird species, and the Kitchen Drawings, which involved documenting people’s kitchens in an exchange of values, rather than money. He is studying for an MA at Plymouth College of Art.
Clare Heaton - Clare is doing a final degree top-up at Plymouth College of Art. She is showing some work that she is preparing for an exhibition at the Space Gallery, Dartington, later this year.
Angela Hilton - Angela graduated from Plymouth College of Art in 2017 and is now Co-ordinator at the KARST gallery in Plymouth. She is showing a piece that was originally shown last year at Plymouth Art Weekender.
Liz Lockyear - Liz has been a longtime promoter of art in Teignmouth, being a founder Director of TAAG and a major contributor to the Pavilions and the TRAIL (recycled art) projects. She is showing work made for the recent TRAIL exhibition at the Devon Guild.
Jane Perkins - Jane is widely known for her very successful found object collages. In this exhibition she is showing another side of her art with her National Geographic ‘Yellow Brick Road’ installation.
Laura Reeves - Laura is another established artist and will be showing her ‘Worksheets’ that were previously shown in Mostyn, Llandudno and in her solo exhibition at the Exeter Phoenix in 2016, along with some new screen prints (and some zines, of course).
Rachel Rose - Rachel has just finished an Art degree top-up at the University Centre, Somerset. She’ll be showing some of her latest work, which explores delineation, space and identity.
Karen Tarr - Karen’s work in this exhibition is concerned with the collapse of insect life in Britain. “Living rurally, surrounded by fields, I have watched the insects in our garden decline dramatically over the years despite our attempts to counteract it.” Her work features some of the Devon moths identified as being of conservation significance.
Matt Thomas - Matt and his partner Nic have a disused pub in Plymouth – ‘RAAY’ – which they have refurbished and is now operating as a successful centre for art and yoga. Matt has a long track record as an artist/illustrator and constantly produces new and interesting work.
Jez Winship - Jez is a photographer, and a bit of a cultural historian, and will be showing photographs taken mainly in and around Devon churches, as well as those of local wildlife, pylons and more besides.
The Analogue Collective - The Collective is a group of visual artists and authors, whose work includes artist books, zines and other primarily analogue outputs. From time to time we exhibit collectively, allowing us to show a selection of work which is as diverse as our practices. In 2018 we took part in the Plymouth Counter art book event and in Art Week Exeter. Contributors include: Laura, Matt, Whitney, Steve, Angela, Rachel, Cress, Karen and Daniel Guy.