Janet Blackman

BA (Hons) Fine Art


My art practice is centred on who I am. Constantly referencing my conscious and subconscious understanding of the world as the mother, wife and dancer, I strive to create work that is “true to myself” and inherently bestowing qualities such as movement, balance, fluidity, trepidation and tension within them; this comes from my physical understanding of the world an instinctive choreography, a dialogue that is translated into my work. Using materials that may be domestically sourced, familiar, found, but most of all sensorially intriguing, I aim to create work that reflects a sense of who I am and which inevitably has some underlying element of my fundamental “balancing act” of life.

My current sculptural work has evolved from an exploration of the mundane and often neglected object: “the clothes peg”. Having investigated the cultural, literary and metaphorical imagery associated with this object, and by deconstructing and reconstructing it. I have now taken these conscious and subconscious, physical, mental and bodily learnt visualisations to create my work. By translating these metaphorical maternal associations of the nurturing role of the clothes peg I have given it permission to “let go” and liberate it from its’ inherent responsibilities.


Mae fy nghelf wedi’i ganoli ar bwy ydw i. Gan gyfeirio’n gyson at fy nealltwriaeth ymwybodol ac is-ymwybodol o’r byd o safbwynt mam, gwraig a dawnswraig, rwyf yn ymdrechu i greu gwaith sy’n “driw i fi fy hun” ac yn reddfol gyflwyno priodweddau megis symudiad, cydbwysedd, llifedd, anesmwythder a thensiwn ynddo; mae hyn yn deillio o fy nealltwriaeth corfforol o’r byd gyda choreograffiaeth reddfol, dialog sy’n trawsnewid i fy ngwaith. Rwyf yn defnyddio deunyddiau domestig, cyfarwydd, rhai dwi’n dod ar eu traws ond yn bennaf yn rhai synhwyraidd diddorol. Fy nod yw creu gwaith sy’n adlewyrchu synnwyr o bwy ydw i ac o reidrwydd yn cynnwys elfen waelodol o fy ymgais i gydbwyso fy mywyd.

Mae fy ngwaith cerflunio wedi datblygu o ymchwiliad i wrthrych cyffredin sy’n cael ei esgeuluso’n fynych sef “y peg dillad”. Rwyf wedi ymchwilio i’r ddelweddaeth ddiwylliannol, llenyddol a throsiadol sy’n gysylltiedig â’r gwrthrych hwn a’i ddadelfennu a’i ail-greu. I greu fy ngwaith, rydw i wedi defnyddio’r delweddau ymwybodol, a’r is-ymwybodol, ffisegol, meddyliol a chorfforol a ddysgais. Wrth drosi’r cysylltiadau trosiadol mamol hyn o rôl feithrin y peg dillad, rydw i wedi rhoi caniatâd iddo “adael fynd” a’i ryddhau o’i gyfrifoldebau cynhenid.

Other Exhibitors:

Cerys Powell

Cerys Powell

My work explores the relationship between a space and the art in it. I have become intrigued by how a painting can effect a space, exploring corporate art, it can be used to influence productivity and creativity in that environment. With influence from Colour Theory,...

Lauren Robins

Lauren Robins

I create detailed portraiture paintings that take a view of the uncanny, the subconscious, and the unconscious mind. I use acrylic paint to create my pieces but have recently been exploring oil paint and mixed media. I enjoy using the fluidity of the mediums and...

Mia Offelia

Mia Offelia

We have never been so connected yet so alone. The internet has become integral to our daily lives, no element of our existence seems untouched by it. But have we been caught and paralysed in the web? We are constantly on display and exposed, yet anonymous. We seem to...

Aimee-Victoria Penny

Aimee-Victoria Penny

My work is currently exploring texture and abstraction, with acrylic paint being my main medium through the repetitive motion of building layers. I am presently experimenting with wallpaper and plaster, by layering through a variety of applications, such as sanding,...

Leigh Hedd Roberts

Leigh Hedd Roberts

I would describe my art as confessional; I take inspiration from my life events and feelings surrounding these experiences, I translate this through my work. I see my practice as a portal from my life in which I can lose myself and explore the deepest truths of my...

Erin Donnelly

Erin Donnelly

I have recently been exploring ideas related to the home and memory, and how they form identity. I am interested in how to defy the imperative to follow a linear structure in personal narrative and instead look for a more honest depiction of memory, which is itself...