Artists

The Doc Rowe Archive Exhibition has commissioned three emerging artists to work on the project, developing original artworks in response to the collector and his comprehensive archive. The artists have been selected on the basis of their professional and personal interest in British folk and traditional customs. They are:

Bryony Bainbridge

Bryony Bainbridge studied Fine Art at Newcastle University. Enticed and fascinated by people, Bryony’s photography has an earthy documentary feel which she enhances through the use of analog processes and medium format film. The tangible element to working with film brings her closer to the work to translate a deeper meaning to the pictures. Bryony’s involvement in the Inspirational Women of the North East project saw her build a body of portraits which she exhibited at the Hatton Gallery in Newcastle. Since then, the project has toured all over the UK, through schools, galleries, and education facilities.

Natalie Reid

Image courtesy of Camilla Greenwell

Natalie Reid is a visual artist, illustrator and printmaker, living and working in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In her early work, Natalie used relief printing, through lino and woodblocks, to tell stories of a personal journey and narrative through means of a traditional craft. Since she joined Edinburgh’s Resonate Collective in 2013, a co-operative connecting printmakers, designer-makers and multimedia artists, Natalie has honed her illustration skills, and her fascination for folksong has led her to illustrate artwork for musicians, including multi-award winning band, The Unthanks. As a traditional dancer, Natalie has an affinity for the human relationship with traditional customs and cultural history.

Anna FC Smith

Anna FC Smith locates herself between artist, historian and anthropologist, with research forming the basis of her work. Smith celebrates the links society has with its predecessors but also demonstrates the imperfect pursuit of truly knowing and recounting history and experiential folk customs. Her current residency sees her examine the role of tobacco in the lives of cigarette factory workers. Previous solo shows and projects include: Hear my Voice and Answer me, on Swiss yodeling (2015); Purring – Sport of The People exploring clog fighting (2013-16); and Burpology – Harry Hill’s TV Burp as Carnival (2012/13) in which Smith compared TV Burp to medieval carnival.