Shirley Archibald

Shirley Archibald’s practice explores non-patriarchal and queer issues connected to injustice and inequality. Most recently she has been looking at the extermination of witches in the 15th-18th centuries. Her work was inspired by their recent pardoning in Scotland by Nicola Sturgeon. It was immediately obvious from her research that these so-called ‘witches’ were, in fact, marginalised women. Shirley is now exploring the repercussions in modern society with parallels to marginalised women now. Shirley creates uniquely shaped canvas stretchers that are constructed from household objects resembling hybrid female forms. She uses the canvas stretcher as a symbol for the system and the body and intends these irregular forms to represent non-conforming, autonomous bodies. Her artistic production is mainly intuitive, embracing experimentation and risk. Whilst these assemblages remember the persecution of witches and women, they reimagine a future which encompasses the feminine and reclaims the magic of the witches in a riotous manner. Shirley completed her BA in Fine Art from University of Liverpool in 1990 and her MA in Fine Art at University of Brighton in 2023. Her work has been exhibited at Brighton CCA for International Women’s Day and she participated in the Open Plan residency in 2022, at the Towner Gallery, Eastbourne. She lives in Brighton. Brighton