Martha Kelsey Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

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Painting, drawing, digital and print, plus engagement and outreach work. The built world, architecture and relics are at the centre of my practice. My work can be read at face value or more deeply; that is, as a reflection of the cyclical nature of human triumphs and struggles — the futile repetition of construction, dominion, decay and redundancy that is traced by the objects we leave behind.

My work takes inspiration from worldly places, relics and histories. Beginning with a reference point, I will use a chosen medium to create a new composition, which feels both placeless and timeless. I use traditional mediums and also experiment, including with digital applications.

Often working in a series, I explore a particular facet of the modern world by looking to the past, extrapolating what I can of human nature using the unlikely and assumed inert reference point of a stone building or carved sculpture. The aim is to work subtly to reveal something of our present selves. By manipulating the visual language of the built world we have inherited, my practice seeks to connect the past with the present. My works could be ghosts or they could be prophecies; the decision is yours.

I have worked in Arts and education settings, in the following areas: Creative Production, Engagement & Outreach, Community enrichment projects, Art and Collections care and handling, Artist Commissions, Youth and Community Participation, Co-Production of services within the local authority.

I trained at Bath Spa University, graduating in 2016 with a 1st Class BA (Hons) Creative Arts. Since then, I have worked with the following organisations:

-Meadow Arts -The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust -The Cheltenham Trust -Gloucester History Festival -Artspace, Lifespace, Bristol -Gloucestershire County Council -Science UK Limited