Approved: 24.09.2010

Fran Crowe

Artist

Approved: 24.09.2010

Sometimes playful but at the same time deadly serious, I aim to inspire people to think and act differently by focusing on issues in an unusual and engaging way and via projects that are seriously researched but 'off the wall' in their execution. Often humorous - even surreal - in tone, my work is deliberately accessible with a strong aesthetic. Initial impressions are often visually stunning (huge

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  • Location: Woodbridge, East
  • Artforms: Installation, Photography
  • Tags: air quality, environment, environmental, pollution, coastal change, marine pollution, debris, hut, living, oil, plastic, fishing, marine, landscape, ocean
 

Artist Statement

Sometimes playful but at the same time deadly serious, I aim to inspire people to think and act differently by focusing on issues in an unusual and engaging way and via projects that are seriously researched but 'off the wall' in their execution. Often humorous - even surreal - in tone, my work is deliberately accessible with a strong aesthetic. Initial impressions are often visually stunning (huge installations or bold displays of multiple items) - but the sting is in the detail... it shocks while it entertains. I transform modest materials (rubbish, earth and air) into something that is valued but which at the same time provokes, paradoxically commenting on consumerism through the subversion of consumerism's tools.Often I make 'keepsakes' (souvenirs, matchboxes, seed packets) - I like the idea of providing a visual reminder and a talking point to take away. Process (for example, walking and collection) are vital elements of my practice - as is my website which both documents and is the work. I see my work as a catalyst. I do not want my audience to be bowled over by my craftsmanship or by the desire to own an object, but, rather, to be blown away by what it makes them think or do. I want to make waves - to create an unforgettable message and to really inspire change.

CV & Education

Qualifications and training 2007 - Body Politic (art, ecology & social justice), Birkbeck College, London 2006 - BA Hons Visual Studies 1st Class, Norwich School of Art & Design, Norwich Solo exhibitions 2012 - Beached, Jaywick Martello Tower, Jaywick, Essex 2012 - Hutliving Here and There, Bridport Arts centre, Bridport, Dorset 2011 - Lines of Exchange, Snape Maltings, Suffolk 2010 - Cast Away on Orford Ness, National Trust, Orford Ness, Suffolk 2009 - Earth Sea and Air, Craftco Gallery, Southwold 2009 - Found Out, Babylon Gallery, Ely 2009 - Future Beach, Earth Summit, Isles of Scilly 2009 - Life Savings, The Cut, Halesworth 2009 - Your Ocean, Time and Tide Museum, Great Yarmouth 2008 - Plastic Fantastic?, RISC, Reading 2008 - Walking to save some sea, Landguard Fort, Felixstowe 2007 - Walking to save some sea, Babylon Gallery, Ely Group exhibitions 2012 - Skeleton Sea, Batán de Villava y Molino San Andrés, Pamplona, Spain 2012 - Skeleton Sea, Lisbon Oceanario, Lisbon, Portugal 2011 - Art and Coastal Change, Aldeburgh, Suffolk 2011 - Skeleton Sea, Torre Madriaga Biodoversity Centre, Mundaka, Spain 2009 - 15 Artists, 15 Days, firstsite, Colchester 2009 - BASH Sustainable Art Awards , BASH Studios, London 2009 - Blue Sky, Ruskin Gallery, Cambridge 2009 - Felixstroll Path Weekend, South beach, Felixstowe 2009 - Flat Art from East Anglia , The Big Shed, Stanny House Farm, Iken 2007 - Platform 7, Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, Suffolk Artist talks 2010 - The Art of Litter, documentary, Radio 4 2008 - Walking to save some sea, Marine Conservation Society Conference, Portsmouth Residencies 2009 - Brisons Veor, Cape Cornwall, Cornwall Projects 2011 - A Year at the Edge, Thorpeness, Suffolk 2011 - Development of landingstage.net website for Suffolk artists/writers engaging with coastal and climate change, Alde and Ore Coast and Estuary, Suffolk 2010 - Programme of artist residencies (ongoing), Sudbourne, Suffolk Competitions, prizes and awards 2009 - Runnner-up BASH Sustainable Art Awards, BASH studios, London 2007 - Babylon Bursary for emerging artist, Babylon Gallery, Ely 2007 - Platform 7 bursary, Bury St Edmunds Art Gallery, Suffolk 2006 - Richardson-Brown Travel prize, Norwich School of Art & Design, Norwich