Angela Benn

Art disciplines: Mixed media, Textiles

My work is about the ocean, its fragility and the breath-taking richness of life there – which is still largely unknown. It’s also about the impacts and extent of our actions.

Working for many years as a jeweller and then a couture milliner, while listening to the radio, I began to hear phrases on the news – ‘global warming’, ‘biodiversity loss’, ‘pollution’. My curiosity led me to Open University science courses. I wanted to do more than just hear about these topics. Eventually I was offered a full-time place at Southampton University to study for an MSci in Oceanography and Marine Biology. Eight years later I emerged. My studies included the taxonomy of a group of deep sea worms at the Natural History Museum and a PhD that assessed the extent of human activities in the deep North East Atlantic. Later my research included regulations governing deep sea fisheries, indicators for healthy seas and marine protected areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Most of my work is hand embroidery and occasionally I use a sewing machine. Many of the materials are left over from my work as a milliner. The gold threads represent human activities. We have insinuated ourselves into even the deepest and remotest parts of the ocean. The torn and crumpled paper scraps are sections of text from the UN Conventions (Law of the Sea, Biological Diversity, etc), from open source academic papers or my own words.

I hope my work will provoke your thoughts for the ocean.

Contact the artist

W: https://www.out-of-sight.uk
T: 07785 717867
E: angela.benn11@gmail.com