I am currently exploring impermanence, grief, and transformation in my work, based on personal experiences of loss, and seen from a wider, planetary perspective. I have a particular interest in the possibility of the continuation of consciousness after physical death.
I am inspired by, and respect nature, and am sensitive to the wellbeing and conservation of non-human animal life. I am in awe of each animal’s uniqueness, and I am acutely aware of the precarity of their survival due to human interference. This compels me to use them frequently as my muses, both as a vessel through which to express my reflections on impermanence, and as a way of honouring their existence.
I am searching for a balance between the heavy viscerality of the physical world, and the lighter, unfettered, spiritual realms. My material choices reflect these two opposing aspects of life (and death). I use tactile silicone to create fleshy tones and visceral textures, embodying the sensory world; and precise and delicate drawing to express my spiritual contemplations and reflections on grief.
The atmospheric tone of each of my drawings is based on my own meditative experiences, and I may additionally reference certain religious or spiritual concepts or texts. For example, ‘Tibetan Dream’ is my interpretation of a bardo state, between death and life, referencing Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, thangka paintings and sky burials, and ‘Siddhartha’ is inspired by a passage in Hermann Hesse’s book of the same name, based on the transmigration of the protagonist’s soul between different creatures, both living and dead.
Sometimes I also create illustrations of mythical beasts.
I hold a Bachelors in Drawing from Camberwell College of Art and a Masters in Prosthetic Effects from Falmouth University. I live in Falmouth, UK.
CV
Upcoming: 21 - 25 July 2026 :The Exquisite Corpse, with Martin Tomsky and Jo House. Spring Gallery, The Poly, Falmouth, UK.
A mixed media, transcultural anatomical being, contemplating death, dissolution and transformation. This collaborative installation combines drawing, stained glass and laser-cut plywood by three artists. Additional works by the individual artists also on show.
Inspiration is drawn from a variety of sources with transformation at their root, including Buddhist and alchemical iconography, Hindu mythology, and the human body and mind.
Hindu Goddess Kali fiercely destroys challenging mental afflictions, such as anger and jealousy, transmuting this detrimental energy into spiritual power and liberation from suffering. Citipati, two dancing skeletons found in Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhism that represent the cyclical flow of life and death, aid us in transforming our fear of death into a release of worldly attachments and egoic desires. The kapala, or skull cup, is an additional symbol of impermanence, used ritually to overcome attachment to the material world. Alchemical imagery can be found in the flames and crucible, representing the initial negredo stage of the process. This is dissolution, death, chaos. Before the transformation begins.
The human body is constantly changing physically, cells dying and being renewed, and as we are now commonly aware, with the popularisation of the term ‘neuroplasticity’, we are very capable of transforming our minds too. Through spiritual practices, therapies, and the use of alternative psychoactive medicines, we can create new neural pathways, and completely transform stuck and embedded thought patterns.
The Exquisite Corpse is a physical embodiment of this transformation. It is born from the deconstruction of the original visual concept into separate parts for each artist to work on and explore creatively. The pieces then finally merge back together to become something new and more powerful than one individual artist could create.
2026: Longlisted - Jackson’s art prize
2025: ‘Dissolution’ (2024) and ‘Departing Soul’ (2024) published in online journal of creative ecologies, Ambient Receiver.
2025: Myth and Death, Spring Gallery, The Poly, Falmouth, UK. Exhibition with Ida Asadi exploring the universal experience of death and grief and the teachings of mythology and folklore.
2023: Monster suit fabricator for The Severed Sun, directed by Dean Puckett
2022: Illustrations published in The Meat Paradox, by Rob Percival
2022: Anonymous Drawings, Zentrum für Aktuelle Kunst, Berlin.
2021: Interbeing; Unit 3 Gallery, SE24, London. Collaborative exhibition with Anders Gramer exploring interdependence.
2021: She Answered, Art, with the South London Women Artists, curated by Gita Joshi
2020: Illustrations published in Dark Mountain Issue 18 : Fabula
2020: Touch, online group exhibition curated by Chicago-based Woman Made Gallery
2019: Visions of the Unseen, KCL Psychiatry dept, Camberwell, London. Group exhibition curated by the Psychedelic Trials Group, KCL. The PTG are investigating psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy to treat depression.
2019: Being, Jeannie Avent Gallery, Dulwich, London. Solo exhibition of pencil and ink drawings exploring the impermanent nature of thoughts and emotions.
2017: Grass Roots, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, USA. ‘Growth of the Soil’ was selected for inclusion in this group exhibition, showing works that investigate the natural environment and our place within it.
2017: Kuuki, The Roper Gallery, Bath, UK. Juried exhibition with the aim of “using art as a platform for debate and collective awareness regarding environmental concerns.”
2016: Vanishing Species pt.ii, The Crypt Gallery, Euston, London. Solo exhibition of life-size drawings and sculptures of endangered animals. Presented in collaboration with World Land Trust.
2015: Selected for the Limner Gallery’s annual Christmas exhibition. Hudson, New York
2015: Vanishing Species, Co-Exist, Bristol, UK. Presented as part of the Big Green Week.
2014: A Dip in the Potion, collaborative show with The Minesweeper Collective, London.
2014 (& 2016): Malmesbury Art Collective exhibition, The John Bowen Gallery, Wiltshire.
2012: Residency at Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi wild animal refuge in the Amazon rainforest, Bolivia. During a one month period at the refuge, I drew rescued wild cats, monkeys and birds. My works were commissioned or auctioned off to raise funds for the charity.
2011: Monsters International, Galerie Espace, Montreal (Juried)
2011: In the Between, The Horse Hospital, Bloomsbury, London (with Cian O’Neill)
2010: 50 Years Fantastic (Society for Art of Imagination group show), La Galleria, Pall Mall, London (Juried)
2010: Limbo, Supine Studios, Hackney, London (with Cian O’Neill)
2009: Brain Squeeze, The Foundry, Old st, London (Group)
2008: Shortlisted for DLA Piper Art Award
2007: Beneath the Surface, The Foundry, Old st, London (Group)
Education
2022-2023: MA Prosthetic Effects (Distinction), Falmouth University
2005 to 2008: BA Drawing, Camberwell College of Art, London
Contact
For any enquiries please email me at bethanmcfaddenart@gmail.com or DM me via Instagram