Artist Fiona Campbell’s latest works will be on display in her historic old laundry outbuilding-come-studio and wildlife garden, including sculptures, drawings and sketchbooks. The event is part of Somerset Open Studios, a county-wide biennial event.

Fiona’s works are made of reclaimed, discarded and found materials, mindful of sustainability, care and repair. Sculptures comprise gleaned objects. Fiona says: ‘I’m a gatherer/scavenger. Most of my work comprises material collected over years from walks, trawling beaches and scrapyards.’

Some work was developed in her residency and solo exhibition in Create@#8 in Shepton Mallet earlier this year. Fiona’s recent Arts Council England ‘Developing Your Creative Practice’ Award allowed more extensive experimentation, integral to her practice.

Driven by a yearning to help save the planet, her 'artivism' seeks to highlight the fragility of our environment in the face of climate crisis. These ‘can be best delivered by the Arts’, suggests Damon Bridge, RSPB. Layered with metaphor and symbolism, viewers of her work will be engaged by her natural antennae to embrace versatility and resourcefulness, reflecting her core philosophy of make-do-and-mend.

Fiona uses labour-intensive methods such as hand-stitching, visible repair, and hand-made eco dyes to celebrate biodiversity, hopeful of nature being more cared for, and thriving. ‘Woods and forests provide vital ecosystems - crucial to our survival’, she says.

Campbell’s sustainable, mixed media work highlights her compassion for the natural world. Sometimes fleshy and organic, sometimes playful, her work always encompasses a generosity of spirit that reflects her personal values. Her impressive oeuvre, often exhibited in unusual spaces, encompasses her lifelong passion for animal rights, conservation and fragile ecosystems. Fiona’ s sculptures have been sited in cathedrals, decommissioned prisons, abandoned quarries, train stations and empty buildings. Her work has been commissioned for a number of high profile public and private collections.

Fiona Campbell will be showing at Laundry Cottage, 13 Cooks Lane, SAW venue 12 - follow the yellow signs! All welcome!

Somerset Open Studios allows a glimpse into often-private spaces and workshops, alongside pop up venues, where audiences can meet the artist, see work in progress and visit the creative source.