Rebecca Wainwright art

Illustrations for Black Bough Poetry’s anthology “Wonderful Things”, commemorating the centenary of the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb.

Each piece is inspired by an aspect of the Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul.

Each piece is accompanied by a line from Chapter 151 of the Book of Dead, found inscribed within the tomb.

Purchase “Wonderful Things” here: https://www.blackboughpoetry.com/tutankhamun-centenary

2020

Inspired by ‘Underland’, author Robert Macfarlane’s 2019 award-winning book, Black Bough Poetry’s 2020 publication draws together a second volume of poetry and art “dedicated to prehistory, mythologies, geological time and underworlds”.

Working closely with the Black Bough Editor Matthew M. C. Smith and selected Guest Readers, the artwork for volume 2 of the publication comprises 7 full colour original pieces inspired by the source material and the submitted poetry, as well as themes of time, human history, preservation and environmentalism.

The project was completed with the consent of Robert Macfarlane, who has supplied a testimony in support of the publication.

Volume 2 can be purchased here via @AmazonUK

Poetry readings and original musical score by Stuart Rawlinson can be heard here via Soundcloud

2020

Inspired by ‘Underland’, author Robert Macfarlane’s 2019 award-winning book, Black Bough Poetry’s summer 2020 publication draws together the work of over 40 poets split over 2 volumes to explore the theme of ‘Deep Time’.

Working closely with the Black Bough Editor Matthew M. C. Smith and selected Guest Readers, the artwork for volume 1 of the publication comprises 6 full colour original pieces inspired by the source material and the submitted poetry, as well as early human history and prehistoric art.

The project was completed with the consent of Robert Macfarlane, who has supplied a testimony in support of the publication.

Volume 1 can be purchased here via @AmazonUK

2019

Paddington Basin

Laser-cut from 3mm Aluminium Sheets, the design of this public artwork traces the growth of the Paddington Basin area from its roots - from waterways and canal networks, through to the railway systems of its industrial past and the roads and urban grain that characterise its modern development, before gesturing to its rapidly developing digital industries, technologies and networks.

A response to an ‘Identity and Way-finding’ public art commission required by Westminster City Council, ‘Emerge, scatter’ uses imagery inspired by the naming of the individual block names (Aster, Betula, Camellia and Dahlia) of Paddington Gardens, the newly constructed residential development on which the panels are fixed, to provide pictorial wayfinding while demonstrating the unique, organic growth of the area through different stages are strata of its history.

Produced while working at Powell Dobson Architects, London. Designs were hand-drawn, converted to vector files, then edited to suit the material and application. The panels were manufactured and laser-cut by Austin Reynolds (http://austinreynolds.com/)

Credits: Powell Dobson Architects, DMC, Midgard ltd and Austin Reynolds

Photo Credits: Powell Dobson Architects and Austin Reynolds

2019

Paddington Basin

Etched into Jura limestone planters, the reed and animal intaglio design of this public landscaping is symbolic of the Grand Union Canal’s journey towards rural areas outside of the city, providing a threshold to the urban edge of the architecture of Paddington Gardens, the new-build predominantly residential building that the planters border.

Part of a ‘Water, Play and Ecology’ public art commission required by Westminster City Council.

Produced while working at Powell Dobson Architects, London. Designs were hand-drawn, converted to vector files, then applied to the manufacturer’s stone panel-dimensions. The panels were machine-etched at the quarry site in Germany, then shipped to London for installation.

Credits: Powell Dobson Architects, DMC, Midgard ltd and Franken Schotter

2018

The story of Blodeuwedd is contained within the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogion, the 12th-13th century collection of Welsh legends.

Blodeuwedd was created from flowers to be the wife of Lieu Liaw Gyffes, then turned into a tawny owl as punishment for her subsequent betrayal of him. This illustration draws inspiration from the work of the 19th century artist Aubrey Beardsley, who famously illustrated 'Le Morte d'Arthur' - a collection of the King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table legends.

The Mabinogion, in which stories of Arthur are also contained, is the earliest example of prose stories in British literature, and this illustration forms part of a series intended to elevate Welsh cultural history and folklore to the same status as English and other European equivalents.

2015

[Response to Jean Tinguely’s piece of the same name, 1961]

‘Jalousie’, an untranslatable French work meaning both ‘jealousy’ and a ‘blind or bead curtain’, is used here as inspiration for a screen that explores the theme of synthetic or manufactured nature. Using the same dimensions as Jean Tinguely’s piece, the screen is formed of a wooden frame with ‘beads’ of sycamore seeds and beech masts, tied to vertically-strung fishing line. The line is held taut using golf tees as pegs pushed through the top of the frame, intended to reference the fabricated ‘natural’ landscaping of golf courses.

Suspended in this way, the seeds are unable to grow, mature or decay naturally. They are photographed against both built and natural forms, demonstrating both belonging and lack of belonging to both - the loss and the jealousy of being denied an organic life cycle.

2012

Studies of Treorchy, Rhondda Valley - South Wales

Inspired by Raymond Williams’ 1960s novel ‘Border Country’, these studies revisit the South Wales valley towns in which it’s based. They show neglected river fronts, railway lines and abandoned factories, the latter representative of the decline of the manufacturing industry upon which the area had come to rely.

This prevalent dereliction gives the impression of forms disintegrating into their individual cells. These cells can be found reformed into new montages and mise-en-scenes, their neglect and disassembly inherent in the new forms they take.