The coast and landscape are a source of inspiration and influence for Warboys, who makes use of the sea in the making of her large scale paintings and draws upon pagan history and folklore in her films and performances.
For her first solo show in a UK national gallery, Warboys showcases two specially commissioned works which highlight her interest in personal and collective memories related to mythology and landscape.
Sea Painting, Zennor 2015, was made on the Zennor coast near St Ives. To create the painting she worked on the beach, casting mineral pigments directly onto a damp, folded canvas, which was then submerged under the sea before being pulled ashore. The process allows the waves, wind and sand to shift and scatter the pigment, in essence ‘painting’ the canvas.
Hill of Dreams 2016, is a new film that draws from Welsh fantasy writer Arthur Machen’s book of the same name that relives his memories of rural Gwent, where Warboys was born a century later.
Hill of Dreams has been commissioned by Tate St Ives, Casa Masaccio, San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy and Kunsthall Stavanger, Norway and will tour to each of these venues throughout 2016−17.
Supported by Tate Members and Tate St Ives Members, Gaudel de Stampa, Paris and Office for Contemporary Art Norway.
Jessica Warboys Hill of Dreams 2016 © Jessica Warboys
Jessica Warboys Boudica 2014. Courtesy the artist & Gaudel de Stampa, Paris