He/Him

CURATOR / ARTIST

Elijah Davidson is an artist enamoured with the rituals of life. He generally works with paint and print as his main mediums but would classify himself more as a conceptual artist - working with whatever medium his ideas dictate - which has led him to works involving video, sound and installation. 

Within the Jardin au Ermine project he acts as curator and artist - he has been enjoying seeing the resident artists pull their ideas together and really delve into the ideas that inspire them. As an exhibiting artist himself, he is working on a piece based on the reflections of his time in Italy, the ‘Seasonal Lag’ carrying the memories of a sweet, hot summer into the cold, desolate winter.

He is very much influenced by art history, finding solace and inspiration often in museums, galleries and places of worship- areas of intentionally combined cultural and historical significance. Specifically, he has spent much time poring over the work of queer artists before him, such as Derek Jarman and Peter Hujar, and thus, following in their footsteps,  would like to explore the medium of super 8 film in the future.

Davidson's main focus for this exhibition was to build a collection of work - a collection of proof - that when given the space and time to exact their will across their own work, young artists will come together and thrive.

When he isn't in the studio, he enjoys spending time with his friends and his lover, writing, drinking tea and listening to music (his favourite album is Painkiller by Judas Priest).

They/Them

ARTIST / SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER / WEBSITE CREATOR

Hayden Bee is an artist enchanted with all things wildlife and natural forms, particularly birds. Up to now their mediums of choice have been paint and print, and lately they have been captivated by mixing these mediums with new materials such as fabric and yarn. 

Alongside taking the role of social media manager for the Jardin au Ermine project, they are working on a collage piece which combines painting, knitting and sewing, inspired by the wildlife in Chester to exhibit as part of the ‘Seasonal Lag’ exhibition. Much of their past work focuses around wildlife (with birds as a central focus), so making something like this for their first piece of the collective seemed only right to establish who they are as an artist. 

Although they have an adoration for all creatures great and small, Bee is particularly devoted to the Zebra Finch, native to Australia and Indonesia, which is renown for its intricately patterned feathers and silly-sounding calls - and even used to have 2 as pets, named Bongo and Toast!

The colours Bee usually works with are typically neutral tones and when colour is involved it is usually in shades of green, yellow and blue - which, interestingly enough, goes hand in hand with Pierre Bonnard’s ‘Jardin au Cannet’, which the project itself is loosely based around. For this collective they’d like to begin working with bright colours, mixing the vibrant colours, like the wings of a bird, with the neutral tones which have become their safe space. This exploration will be a lot like the collective itself - exciting and new, yet also a little bit daunting!

Outside of the studio, they can be found writing music, attending concerts & at the theatre (most likely with their friends and partner).

She/They

ARTIST / ZINE TECHNICIAN

Becca Linford is a versatile artist whose work spans a wide range of mixed media. This includes oil painting, textiles, and most recently, claymation. Having explored various artistic forms since childhood, she has delved into nail art, makeup artistry, SFX, illustration, culminating in her pursuit of a degree in Fine Art. Her past projects have tackled the themes of feminism and social issues, notably creating reinterpretations of fairy tale stories.

Linford’s inspirations often stem from illustrators. The central influences of her work have been Mary Cicely Barker, Beatrix Potter and Tim Burton. Like these artists, Linford’s work can often be deceiving - an array of bright, vibrant colours - hiding a deep, sinister underbelly. A frequent motif in Linford’s work is the use of flowers; in a recent project, she studied the symbolism of poisonous plants, contrasting the delicacy of the painterly style and subject 

For her work as a resident artist, she is exploring the medium of embroidery, creating intricate designs based on the theme of ‘The Seasonal Lag’. Here, she is considering the rich iconography of the seasons themselves, molding them together into one coherent piece.

Outside of the studio, Linford enjoys being creative through make-up, fashion, and creating new nail sets (often while watching the Jurassic Park series).

She/Her

ARTIST / ZINE TECHNICIAN

Jess Birtwistle is an artist from Nantwich who is currently studying Fine Art at the University of Chester. Overall, she primarily works in acrylic paint- but loves experimenting with new mediums like sculpture and printmaking. Her studies of Francis Bacon, Paul Delvaux and Zdzisław Beksiński have heavily influenced her creative process and the way she puts together work. Creating is an opportunity to be at one with her work and often brings a calmness to a sometimes-overactive mind. 

Birtwistle’s role in the collective is dual: she acts as both an artist and as a zine technician. In this role she will help to design, curate and print the zines that will be handed out during the house show. 

Her work follows how struggling with mental health issues and depression from a young age has changed how she thinks in her adult life - how her personal experience, isolation and loneliness have distorted her memories.Through this exhibition she hopes to examine how growth and change can help develop someone into the person they are, as well as exploring how some take longer to learn and develop as compared to others. 

She has an affinity with moths, beetles and butterflies, creatures which often appear as motifs throughout her works. Her favourites include the goliath beetle and the Madagascan sunset moth.

They/Them

ARTIST / PHOTOGRAPHER

Bee Jones is a visual artist predominantly focussed on photographic and printing mediums. They are digitally focussed with an all-consuming habit of experimental post production. Jones’ work combines the mapped visual language of photography with subtle inferences of intimacy, closeness and connection strewn liberally in their work. Paired with techniques such as emulsion printing, a new language is spoken into existence.

Jones is a third year student in Photography at Manchester Metropolitan University alongside being an artist in residence for Jardin au Ermine. Their work within this project will involve printing directly onto canvas, as well as using text and sketch to narrate their pieces. Their past work has focussed primarily on human connection and what it means to be human, and is expected to take a similar form in work for the ‘Seasonal Lag’ exhibition.

The work linked to the exhibition varies massively from Jones’ practice. The muted tones of the project colour scheme aren’t ones they often explore liberally. Exploring the new expectations of a project and collaborating with artists specialising in vastly different practices will help to expand their techniques and open their eyes to new mediums and ways of working.

Outside of Jones’ practice, they spend a lot of time travelling, spending this March in Morocco. A keen enjoyer of the outdoors, they spend a lot of time exploring new places. When not in new countries, Jones can be found frequenting cafes and knitting with their partner Hayden (also in the collective!)

She/Her

ARTIST

Lily Burke is an artist usually working as a landscape oil painter, with a soft spot for textiles and printing. Her work is meditative in nature,  reflecting the mindfulness of her process in the often serene outcomes she creates. She consistently comes back to exploring waters in her work, and as "Seasonal Lag" is a phenomenon caused by oceans, the pull persists.  

Her role within the collective is as an artist, and her work in this project centres around the exploration of heat maps and temperature depicted visually, both in scientific documents and in the sun-soaked early works of Matisse. Burke often explores heavily process-based "crafts", and what it means to transform these into art forms themselves. Sewing, knitting, and crocheting are often dismissed but hold a valuable place communicating warmth and care, and keeping alive an important part of women's history.

She sees creation as a source of solace, and is interested in valuing and practicing relief as an act of defiance. The meditative nature of these mediums link back to her work and its focus upon peace within nature, and her interests in particular mediums work continually with her subjects.

She has most recently worked upon building a tattoo portfolio, and doing so has allowed an exploration of tattoo as an art form itself. Like the aforementioned crafts, tattooing is a rather mindful art, both for artist and sitter that allows for an artistic connection that is unlike any other. 

He/Him

ARTIST

Thomas May is an artist inspired by the creative processes that cycle around him - he is influenced by his friends, family (especially his Mum, who encouraged his passion for drawing from a young age) and his surroundings, exploring galleries and museums until something sparks his imagination. The main mediums he utilises are graphite and acrylic paint - but he is no stranger to experimentation, creating sculptural assemblages using metal wire.

Within the Jardin au Ermine collective, he acts as an artist. A balance of disorder and control informs his practice. He follows his passion for spontaneity by using acrylic paint and gestural movements, often creating work while listening to music and immersing himself within his process. A studio setting is important to him in this context - he enjoys speaking with and sharing concepts with his fellow emerging artists. Conversely, he has also engaged with extremely detailed, structural drawings, in contrast to his more expressive works.

In recent work, May has forayed into the creation of sculptural forms. This has been inspired largely by his continued interest with Greek and Roman mythologies - the intensity of the mythos, alongside the physicalities of creatures and monsters replicated by many artists and masters before him. With this sculptural experimentation, he focuses on the line between the ‘life’ and the ‘lifeless’. 

May enjoys and dislikes, in equal measure, the relentless nature of making work - his pieces spiral into many different intentional and unintentional facets. Sometimes, it’s frustration that pushes him to create his most compelling work.

They/Them

POSTER DESIGN

Lee Jones is an artist from Watford, and is currently pursuing a degree in Graphic Design at the University of Chester. Having enjoyed art and design from a young age, they have explored various avenues and mediums within their practice, culminating to a knowledge of both digital and traditional methods. Today, they mainly operate within the world of comic books and illustration.

As a graphic designer, Jones's role in Jardin au Ermine involves various tasks- they work alongside their fellow artists and curator to create advertising and design which withholds a sense of consistency throughout the campaign. This has mainly culminated in their posters for the event. They work in liaison with social media manager, Hayden Bee, using their skills in graphic design.

Their works are heavily influenced by the pop art movement, with artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Peter Blake being significant inspirations.Their love of comics and illustration comes from their adoration for Jim Davis’ ‘Garfield’, Stjepan Šejić’s ‘Harleen’, and Paul Dano’s ‘Riddler: Year Zero’.

They are currently using Jim Davis’ ‘Garfield’ as a regular reference for their work, specifically in a current university module on the art of storytelling, where they are creating their own version of the 3 panel cat comic. Besides their university work, they are working on a ‘Romeo and Juliet’ style comic based in a zombie apocalypse. In the future, they hope to be a published comic book artist.

Besides creating comics and posters, they can be found playing computer games with their boyfriend, watching EastEnders, or listening to their vinyl collection.