Tessa Farmer

Tessa Farmer
Tessa Farmer
Born	1978; Birmingham, UK
Education	The Ruskin, Oxford – BA 2000, MA 2003
Known for	Sculpture
Notable work	Miniature Worlds at the Jerwood Space, The Mouse That Roared at Project 133 in Peckham, and The Terror at Firstsite in Colchester.

Tessa Farmer (born 1978, Birmingham, UK) is an artist based in London. Her work, made from insect carcasses, plant roots and other found natural materials, comprises hanging installations depicting Boschian battles between insects and tiny winged skeletal humanoids.^[1]

Farmer studied at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in 2000 and her Master of Arts in 2003. Subsequent awards include the Vivien Leigh Prize, a sculpture residency in King's Wood, Challock, Kent, and a Royal British Society of Sculptors Bursary Award. Her work is in the collections of the Saatchi Gallery and the Ashmolean Museum among others.^[2]

In 2007, Farmer was artist in residence at the Natural History Museum and was chosen for the final shortlist of The Times/South Bank Show Breakthrough Award.^[3]

In 2015, she won the BSFA Award for Best Artwork 2014, for an installation inspired by The Wasp Factory from Iain Banks.^[4]

Family

Her great-grandfather is Arthur Machen – author of The Great God Pan, and The White People. Tessa was unfamiliar with Machen's work until a member of The Friends of Arthur Machen drew her attention to similarities between some of Machen's stories and Tessa's own work. Since then, Machen has become an influence in her artwork.^[5]

Selected exhibitions

2018 Anima Mundi St Ives, 'Out of the Earth'
2018 Leeds Arts University Leeds, 'Zsofia Jakab :Beckoning'
2017 bo.lee gallery London, 'Nature's Alchemy'
2016 Griffin Gallery London, 'Perfectionism (Part III): The Alchemy of Making'
2016 Studio 3 Gallery, Kent London, 'Curio: Sites of Wonder'
2015 Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities London, 'In Fairyland'
2015 Leeds College of Art Leeds, 'In Fairyland'
2014 The Holburne Museum Bath, 'Unwelcome Visitors'
2012 Spencer Brownstone Gallery New York, 'ISAM: Control Over Nature'
2012 Millennium St Ives, 'From the Deep'
2011 Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities London, 'The Coming of the Fairies'
2011 Crypt Gallery London, 'ISAM: Control Over Nature'
2011 Danielle Arnaud Contemporary Art London, 'Nymphidia

References

^ Tessa Farmer Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Axis feature
^ "Newcontemporaries 2004 | selected artists 2004 | Tessa Farmer". Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2010.
^ CampbellJohnston, Rachel; Gatti, Tom (8 January 2008). "Breakthrough Award the shortlist". The Times. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.^{[dead link‍]}
^ Flood, Alison (7 April 2015). "British Science Fiction awards honour 3D Wasp Factory". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
^ "In Conversation With Tessa Farmer" (PDF). Antennae. 1 (3): 16–24. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2007.

External links

Tessa Farmer, Tessa Farmer: Home Page
Tessa Farmer, Miniature Worlds
Parabola: Tessa Farmer
Tessa Farmer at Saatchi Gallery Collection

[1] Tessa Farmer Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Axis feature

[2] "Newcontemporaries 2004 | selected artists 2004 | Tessa Farmer". Archived from the original on 6 February 2010. Retrieved 14 April 2010.

[3] CampbellJohnston, Rachel; Gatti, Tom (8 January 2008). "Breakthrough Award the shortlist". The Times. London. Retrieved 25 May 2010.^{[dead link‍]}

[4] Flood, Alison (7 April 2015). "British Science Fiction awards honour 3D Wasp Factory". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 September 2015.

[5] "In Conversation With Tessa Farmer" (PDF). Antennae. 1 (3): 16–24. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 February 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2007.

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