Art / News
Billboards across Bristol feature artists’ responses to RWA exhibition
Billboards across the city are currently displaying work by Bristol-based artists.
Lucy J Turner, Liz Naden and Annie Clay have all responded to themes of an exhibition at the RWA, Found Cities, Lost Objects: Women in the City, curated by Lubaina Himid.
The billboards will be on display during the first few weeks of August as part of a partnership between the Arts Council Collection and the RWA.
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“I’m incredibly excited to see all the artists’ work up on the billboards and to see how we’ve each responded to the brief,” said Clay,
“I feel proud to have created a piece within the limited hours I have as a working mum, that hopefully expresses and reflects the intensity of the role of mother and parent in the changing city today.
“The hope and fears and joys and questions all interplay. I feel honoured to have been selected for this opportunity, I hope people in the city enjoy seeing and interacting with it too.”
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Read more: Found Cities, Lost Objects: Women in the City opening at RWA
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Turner, whose illustrations appear in the Bristol24/7 quarterly magazine, said that she was inspired to enter the billboard competition “largely because of the provocation of ‘women in cities’.”
She said: “As a woman who has only grown up in large cities, I felt like I have a lifetime of experiences that have for better or for worse, moulded me into the person and artist I am today. I saw it as a brilliant opportunity to tell and share my stories.
“Cities can be magical places, full of culture, community, art, electricity, vibrancy and fun. They can help you find your tribe and make you feel less alone. They can foster feelings of inclusion and blow away the loneliness.
“But all that depends on who you ask, cities can also add to feelings of loneliness and isolation. They can create dark places where violence and assault thrive. Especially for women.
“My piece explores and highlights the relationships between Black women living in the city and how integral they are to each other.
“Even now, living in a city as diverse as Bristol, it still remains incredibly segregated and in order to survive, Black women have built communities within the city.
“The themes of joy and laughter and lightness come to mind because that’s what we provide each other.”
Liz Naden entered the RWA’s billboard competition “because the theme of the exhibition really resonates with my current ideas” – photo: Genoveva Arteaga
For Naden’s winning piece, she painted a large portable mural in bright and bold colours, “evoking a sense of joy and security”.
“I wheeled it from Brislington to the centre of Bristol, via Temple Meads and Stokes Croft, with photographer Genoveva Arteaga. She helped to photograph the piece while it was on its journey, against backdrops that contrasted with the mural’s aesthetic.
“The contrast was crucial to highlight the positive effect art can have in certain areas that may feel unsafe, particularly for women. It also implied that any wall can become a legal wall to paint on. I selected nine photographs and pieced them together in a series to create the final artwork.”
Naden said that it feels “pretty unbelievable” to have her work displayed on billboards across the city.
“I feel very grateful to Lubaina for trusting in my idea for the project and selecting me as one of the winning artists.
“One of the billboards is on North Street, which is the area of Bristol I first lived in when I moved here nearly five years ago. I spent four years walking up and down that street, so it feels nice to have my work up there.”
Main photo: Lucy J Turner
Read next:
- My Bristol Favourites: Lucy J Turner
- Campaigners paint over ‘illegal’ ad billboards in Bristol
- 1000 origami cranes made by children go on display
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