Linda Ingham lives and works in North East Lincolnshire, dividing her time between her two studios – the first in her coastal home, and the second at Abbey Walk Gallery in Grimsby.
Since her MA in Fine Art (2005 – 2007) she has developed her studio practice to focus very much on materials and process, conceptually expressions of self-portraiture, and has also begun to forge a direction in curatorial and other projects.
The images provided are from a body of work in progress, entitled Open, and are a small selection of the work so far – mainly drawings and paintings which are constructions that examine the nature of drawing and painting in terms of development of a 3d element, shadow, and boundaries and edges, as well as materials and process. Linda has been working on this series as part of her studio practice for The Nature of Landscape project, through which Abbey Walk Gallery Artists have been working with David Ainley, Jeremy Leigh, Dr Judith Tucker and Richard Kenton Webb, Professor Stephen Newton and composers David Power and Alexandra Harwood. As well as securing Arts Council Funds and initiating the idea for this project, Linda is project manager, contributor, curator and editor of the catalogue of images and essays that accompanies the body of work which will be shown in a final exhibition at Surface Gallery in Nottingham in March 20II. Two Pieces from the Open body of work (not shown) are also touring nationally during 20II with The Origin of Colour show organised by Aberdeen University.
The majority of this work so far has taken the form of drawings made in direct response to a stretch of Humber estuary coastland a mile from her home. The materials and imagery develop from the experience of being IN the landscape as a form of meditation, although somewhat added to by emotional elements of recent and past happenings in her life. The work is accompanied by found objects from the area, displayed in the context of sculpture, which relates to the work, and both the making of the images and the gathering of materials are recorded – or diarised – in notebooks to highlight the passing of time and life and human activity. No images are available of this presentational combination at this time, although an image of a found object has been provided.
In addition to Open, Linda is also working on another project, entitled Pore, the painted elements of which are somewhat constructions of linen, stitch and oil paint, though which she explores the notion of ‘self’ through making images of others. In conversation about the Open and Pore work with the author of Art & Ritual, Prof. Stephen Newton recently, Newton coined the phrase ‘Ultra-sensitive femininity’ to describe Linda’s work comparing it to that of Therese Oulton in the attention paid to the development of the surfaces. This work in progress – an installation numbering some 300 pieces in quantity, is set to tour nationally from 20I2, the year of its completion, and involves around 70 sitters. This is the second time Linda has been successful in achieving Arts Council funding for her own studio practice, the first time being in 2005 for a series of work entitled Red Roar.
Linda has an MA in Fine Art from the Lincoln Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design (2005 – 2007) and prior to that a diploma in European Humanities from the Open University. She has been exhibiting nationally for the last fifteen years. During 20I0 Linda exhibited her work internationally at galleries and universities including the Arthur M Berger Gallery at Manhattenville College, New York, Leeds University and Aberdeen University, and in 20II she will launch the series of Head & Whole exhibitions and events at Abbey Walk Gallery in Grimsby.