Colourscape, Carole Dawber

Carole Dawber: Colourscape

29th July – 23rd September 2023

Monday – Saturday 10am – 4pm

Multi-disciplinary artist, Carole Dawber, continues to break down the barriers between craft and art by advocating a reciprocal rearrangement of traditional values.

Carole has been a practising artist ever since graduating from Liverpool College of Art in 1978 and was subsequently elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She has over 35 years experience as a senior academic within the University sector and has exhibited at venues in Britain, France, Italy and Finland.

In her new solo exhibition – ‘colourscape’ – at The Atkinson in Southport, Carole reinvents her long-term love of the landscape of the North Sefton coastline by constructing an abstracted narrative that captures the tones, patterns, shapes and textural details of the region.

Experimentation and evolution remain important features of her process and the catalyst behind ‘colourscape’ came during recent lockdown excursions along the Sefton coastline.

Played out against a backdrop of seasonal change, the relentless interruptions of the sea’s tidal rhythm, the ebb and flow of crashing waves and the scratchy tumble of the tundra tossed by incoming winds, continually challenged Carole’s interpretation.

Unlike the horizontal rectangle adopted in traditional landscapes, Carole prefers her own paintings to exist within the symmetry of a square ratio. Although this often presents a compositional challenge, the results are undoubtedly more impactful and aesthetically pleasing.

Preferring the versatility and vibrancy of acrylics rather than oils or watercolours, Carole always establishes an underpainting in monochrome to guarantee that the increase in size from preliminary sketchbook ideas still displays the same narrative and balance.

Subsequently, Carole employed an associated narrative to further develop the theme, swapping to a needle and thread to compose a variety of expressive stitches in imitation of her painted brushstrokes.

The results skilfully articulate her fascination with the tactile elements and sculptural forms found in Nature and each final canvas became an attempt to subvert the sweetness and sentimentality too often associated with traditional embroidery.

Carole’s core fabrics were from recycled sources (mostly reclaimed sari silk) providing a wide variety of silk qualities from lightweight habotai to iridescent dupions. Often purchased as ribbon hanks, she separated and over dyed them before re-winding to create the myriad colour palette she later employed.

Both the painting and textile compositions will be on show in the ‘colourscape’ exhibition at The Atkinson in Southport from 29^th July through to 23^rd September 2023.

About the artist: Carole Dawber

Accessibility: Wheelchair access, Accessible toilets, Hearing Loop

Toilets: Yes

Website: www.theatkinson.co.uk