about
Self portrait in the studio, 2024, Ellie Shipman
I am a visual and participatory artist based in Bristol. I studied BA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art, UAL (2008 - 11) and MSc Sustainable Development at UWE (2015 - 16).
My practice is concerned with concurrent states of being and the process of drawing out shared commonality between them: hope and fear; isolation and togetherness; the domestic and the public; grief and joy. The liminal space where these states rebuff, align and overlap is explored, shared and reflected on through multimedia artworks using social practice, found textiles, audio and installation. I am interested in visualising commonalities around what it is to be a womxn; the experience of birth and new m/otherhood as well as notions of community; sustainability and climate collapse, framed within critical perspectives on globalisation, industrialisation, urbanisation and systems thinking.
My work has multiple entry points drawing on different senses - they bring people together and are often touchable, interactive, edible or writeable. The use of found objects with a history of their own adds layers of context and significance. Spatiality and the relationship between the body and domestic, institutional and public space all feed into how I position my work and where it finds itself in the world. Parts of my pieces are often gifted back to participants in the form of limited edition publications and zines, party bags or other tokens. I aim for those involved in the making of my work to see themselves in it.
I regularly collaborate with researchers to translate academic ideas into sculptural or participatory works, and often approach researchers to critically reflect on my own pieces through their research lens, most recently around m/otherhood, birth experiences and feminism. I also collaborate with scientists, fellow creatives, the general public and a diverse range of community groups alongside independent work.
Following the birth of my son in 2021 my practice has been exploring birth, the complexities of m/otherhood and hidden womxn’s labour. Through being awarded Arts Council England’s Developing Your Creative Practice funding in 2023 I formed a new body of work including: collage series Expect the Unexpected; photograph Unheard; How Was The Birth? (currently on show at MK Gallery: MK Calling from June - Sept 24) and Held With Volume, sculptures using found quilts and medical training devices, and ongoing project, a participatory birth-day party called HAPPY BIRTH DAYS, all 2023. This thematic deepening has led to commissions along these themes, from a 6 month research project M/OTHERS IN THE INSTITUTION with the University of Bristol exploring how the institution treats academic m/others, to co-designing a prototype for a birth bag storage unit currently being trialled at Southmead Hospital, Bristol.
I am currently leading a large-scale two year public art commission called Charting Change for the University of Bristol supported by the Contemporary Art Society. I am curating a programme of workshops, events and temporary artworks with Programme Artists I selected: inventor and automaton sculptor Jack Stiling and eco-feminist British-Somali artists dhaqan collective - Fozia Ismail and Ayan Cilmi. The programme will culminate in my design for a large textile artwork to surround a 30 person seating area in the university’s new building opening at Temple Quarter in 2026, which will be handwoven by local weavers.
Commissioners, funders and partners have also included: Arts Council England; We the Curious; Bricks; The Vietnamese Women’s Museum; Southmead Hospital; Pump House Gallery; The University of Cambridge; Historic England; The Royal Shakespeare Company and Wellcome Trust.
I am an Associate Artist at Spike Island, Bristol.
I am also an illustrator, map-maker and pattern designer - my illustration portfolio can be found at ellieshipman.com
For a brief overview of my practice, you can watch this walkthrough of my solo show RE:COLLECTION - Regathering Social Practice at St Anne's House, Bristol, 2023.