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artist, writer, gardener.
My interdisciplinary practice takes seed in my allotment, on walks and in field research, working with sculpture, installation, text work and watercolours. My work places importance on a devotional relationship with place through ritualistic practice and site-specific intervention.
I consider the landscape as an extension of my studio, with gardening and walking as integral to the artistic process as drawing and painting. Writing is an intrinsic part of my process, taking the form of textual works, essays, journals, poetry and documentation. Writing often precedes visual artworks and accompanies exhibiting works on display.
I cultivate rituals and ceremonial experiences, engaging with seasonal folklore and storytelling, to offer entry to more-than-human perspectives and deeper kinship with the natural world. As a Workshop Facilitator, I offer workshops and immersive experiences, crafted to engage people with nature-inspired artmaking, mindfulness practices, and nature connection.
Biography
Holly Foskett-Barnes (b. 1990) was born and educated in London/Oxfordshire, UK. She moved to the south west to study Contemporary Fine Art at Dartington College of Arts, later merged with Falmouth University, graduating with First Class Honours in 2012. Foskett-Barnes graduated with a postgraduate degree in Religious Arts of Asia at the School Oriental & African Studies (SOAS) in 2016, specialising in early Buddhist art from the Himalayas and South East Asia, undertaking field research in Nepal. She has had a solo exhibition in Dali (Yunnan, China) in 2011 and a first UK solo show at HOURS (Bristol, UK) in 2024. Holly lives and works from her studio in Bristol where she facilitates nature connection workshops and pursues her artistic practice.
Education
2015-2016
MA Religious Arts of Asia, School of Oriental and African Studies (London, UK)
2009-2012
BA Contemporary Fine Art, Dartington College of Arts / Falmouth University (Devon / Cornwall, UK)
Artist residencies
2024
The Hide (Stroud, UK)
2022
Community, Architecture, Migration, Participation (Athens, Greece)
2011
Rouge et Noir Gallery (Dali, China)
Awards, funding & memberships
Present
Spike Island Associates
Present
a-n Artists
2025
CuratorSpace Bursary #28
2024
Arts Council England, Develop Your Creative Practice (DYCP) funding
2016
City of London, Combined Education Charity grant
Exhibitions, talks & events
2025
The Hive, Bridgy Gallery (Somerset, UK) - group show
2024
a place to pray, HOURS gallery (Bristol, UK) - solo
2022
People's Art Fair, Republic of Stokes Croft (Bristol, UK) - group show
2019
Curator for Trophies of Empire: Traces and Legacies, Arnolfini (Bristol, UK) - event
2019
Curator for Threads, Spike Island Test Space (Bristol, UK) - exhibition
2016
Speaker for Southeast Asian Symposium at Khalili Lecture Theatre, SOAS (London, UK) - talk
2015
Film Pro Lates (London, UK) - group show
2013
LINES, Strand Gallery (London, UK) - group show
2012
Performer for Art of Change: New Directions from China, Hayward Gallery (London, UK) - exhibition
2012
Contexture, Fish Factory (Falmouth, UK) - group show
2011
Mother Nature, Mother China, Rouge et Noir Artspace (Dali, China) - solo