about

Self portrait in the studio, 2024, Ellie Shipman

Eleanor Shipman (b. 1989) is a visual and participatory artist based in Bristol.

My practice explores the complexities of birth and m/otherhood, hidden labour in industrial and domestic creation, and existential concerns surrounding climate collapse. Informed by social practice, my multidisciplinary approach - spanning public art, textiles, sculpture and collage - invites participation through design, process, and form.

This could involve: sharing placenta-shaped cake to reflect on birth; writing redactive poetry using university policies on parenting; spinning a wall of hourglasses on the sustainability of sand; or donating quilts to charity shops, which unknowingly become sculptures.

My work honours the labour embedded in interconnected materials and objects, often reassembling them into new narratives. My practice creates space for meaningful conversation and aims to embed small forms of legacy - gifts back to those involved, reflections on research, changes to policy, informing public spaces.

I hold a BA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art (2008 - 2011) and an MSc in Sustainable Development from UWE (2015 - 2016). My background in gallery education, community development, and public engagement shapes her approach. I frequently work with universities, hospitals, galleries, and museums and am also an illustrator and designer at ellieshipman.com.

I am an Associate Artist at Spike Island and member of the Public Sculptures and Statues Association, and The Art Working Parents Alliance. 

Selected commissions and exhibitions include: Charting Change public realm commission for the University of Bristol with the Contemporary Art Society *Consultancy, current (UK); Safe Spaces: The Rights of Women through their Words, Work and Creativity, The Gram (CZ); MK Calling group show at MK Gallery (UK); RE:COLLECTION - Regathering Social Practice, solo show at Bricks (UK); 24 Hours of Sand, a permanent exhibit at We The Curious (UK); Who Made My Clothes? exhibition at The Vietnamese Women’s Museum (VN); M/OTHERS IN THE INSTITUTION, a participatory project and public artwork at the University of Bristol (UK). 

I have been published in: Safe Spaces: The Rights of Women through their Words, Work and Creativity, Art Connect Women, 2024 (CZ); Art in and with Public/s Conversation, Can Altay for Visual Art South West, 2023; Bricks podcast: Recollecting RE:COLLECTION with Eleanor Shipman and Elita Robertson, 2023 (UK); Cut, Torn and Mended, Spilt Milk Gallery, 2023 (UK); My Body in My Hands, Sam Lucas and Nick Grellier, 2023 (UK); TIDE Magazine, 2022 (FR); They Draw and Travel: 100 Illustrated Maps of Very Special Places, Nate Padavick, 2020 (US) amongst others. 

Keep in touch - sign up to my newsletter for monthly updates, exhibition invites, talks and more. 

For a brief overview of my practice, you can watch the talk below: