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31 August 2011
Artist celebrates year of archaeological residency
Bill Bevan, artist in residence at the University of Sheffield's Department of Archaeology, is celebrating the end of his residency with a free exhibition entitled Diggers.
Diggers will chart Bill's year of artistic residence, during which he has aimed to capture the practice of archaeology in the field and lab, and to explore how archaeology and photography relate to each other. The exhibition will run from 7-9 and 13-15 September 2011 at the Jessop West Exhibition Space at the University´s Faculty of Arts and Humanities.
The exhibition will feature photographic artworks which will hang permanently in the Department of Archaeology, Northgate House on West Street, Sheffield. One of these is a 4.5m high montage which leads the viewer through the process of archaeology from fieldwork to knowledge from bottom to top – much like layers in an archaeological section.
Bill Bevan was awarded the residency by the Leverhulme Trust, an organisation that provides funding for research and education. The Trust's Artists in Residence scheme brings artists into research and study environments where creative art is not part of the normal curriculum or activities of the host department.
Bill Bevan said: "It has been an exciting year as I have followed the work of the archaeologists on digs and in the labs. I've realised that archaeologists and photographers try to do the same thing – we try to capture fleeting moments in the lives of people and frame them for others to experience. It is great to know my work will be on display for staff and students at the department to see in the future."
A highlight of Bill's residency is Walk Into Prehistory, a photographic-led book looking at the ways people approached prehistoric monuments in the past and how visitors can approach them today. The book covers 35 monuments, across Britain and Ireland from Cornwall in the south to Orkney in the north, Kerry in the west to East Yorkshire in the east.
Bill also created an exhibition called Henge Diggers, documenting the Department of Archaeology's Stonehenge Riverside Project over three seasons. He visualised the relationships archaeologists have with tools, the way in which they create order and their methods of mapping ancient patterns. The results were exhibited at Manchester Museum earlier this year.
A one day seminar entitled Assembling Archaeology features as a highlight of Diggers, to be held on 12 September 2011. The seminar will focus on how the practice and materiality of archaeology can be researched through visual art and media. A range of speakers will discuss how artistic practice visualises the connections between archaeologists and the materials and places that give meaning to their work. Confirmed speakers include Mark Anstee, Greg Bailey, Helen Wickstead, Angela Piccinni and Antonia Thomas.
To book a place on the Assembling Archaeology seminar, visit:
Assembling Archaeology
To find out more about Bill Bevan, visit:
Bill Bevan
To find out more about the University of Sheffield's Department of Archaeology, visit:
Department of Archaeology
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