Leila Bebb
Art in the Bar
Parallel Universe Experimentations
Preview: Tues 15th November 6pm
Exhibition continues until 23rd December. Open Weds – Sat, 11am – 11pm
‘I work in a variety of ways. I am visual artist, a dancer, a writer. I have exhibited my work in group exhibitions in Swansea and further afield and I have also shown my work in solo exhibitions. During lockdown a piece of my work was selected for the Disability Arts Cymru Art’s prize exhibition that toured galleries in Wales and was exhibited online. Lat year some of my knitted sculptures were exhibited in the Mission gallery in Swansea. One of my paintings was shown in this year’s Beep International.
Recently I took part in Disability Arts Cymru World Builders and Creativity is Mistakes projects. As part of this project, I worked with other artists at the Mostyn Gallery in North Wales where the work was exhibited. I also visited Venture Arts in Manchester for a weeklong residency, an organisation that promotes the art of learning-disabled artists in a professional context. When lockdown ended I rented my studio and my work changed and grew. It became bolder and more colourful. I began to have more success.
My dream is to be recognised as a professional artist regardless of my disability. All the artwork in this exhibition has been made since the end of lockdown. I make crazy art, knitted sculptures and lots of abstract paintings. I work in my sketch books using pencils, pens, charcoal or felt tip pens to add colour. I attend life drawing classes and draw when I am out and about in Swansea. When I watch films I am inspired by animals such as gorillas and fantastic birds. In my sketch book drawings, I find exciting colours and shapes that I draw in an abstract way. In my studio I use acrylic paints and canvasses. I work with the same colours and abstract shapes using the paint freely, working on a larger scale. The acrylic paint makes the paintings bolder and more colourful. To achieve the same effects in my knitted sculptures, I change the texture, colour and thickness of the yarn and cast on and off to make the knitting three dimensional and full of movement. Sometimes I join pieces of knitting together to make larger hanging pieces.’
Leila Bebb is a member of the elysium gallery artist studios community. Her work can be seen at https://www.outsidein.org.uk/