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Deborah Westmancoat
Born 1968
Lives in Taunton and works at BV Studios, Bristol, UK.
www.westmancoat.com

Deborah Westmancoat’s practice is informed by the fl oods of 2012 and 2013, and seeks to interpret and understand
the four major stages of classical alchemy through the bringing together of writing ink, site-specifi c bodies of water,
handmade paper and confi gurations of found objects and elements.
Westmancoat’s recent work has focused on the transformational action of albedic light and order upon the dark,
swirling waters of the Nekyia, Jung’s “night journey on the sea”.

Surface 3 began with a layer of memorial photography used as the initial framework. The images were placed in
chronological sequence, fl ooded with ink and water and then removed. Over several weeks a rich patina formed
from many washes, the action of fl ood writing history upon the surface.
Mountain brings together two found surfaces to create a made third, and is an experiment in understanding the
nature of immersion. The hand is present but with reservation, repetitive pencil marks evidence ongoing investigation
into how to lose oneself in the work, how to absent oneself from the outcome.
DEBORAH WESTMANCOAT received a fi rst class honours BA (Hons) Fine Art degree from the University of Plymouth (2014) after having
completed FdA Fine Art at the same institution through Somerset College. Westmancoat has participated in a number of Group Exhibitions
including; Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2014, World Museum, Liverpool Biennial and ICA, The Mall, London, UK (2014), Royal Academy
Summer Exhibition, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London, UK (2014), Fabric of the Land, Aberdeen Harbour, Scotland (2014), Free Range,
Plymouth University/Somerset College, Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, London, UK (2014), Revelation, Plymouth University/Somerset College,
Taunton, Somerset, UK (2014), Marshwood Vale Arts Awards (selected by John Hubbard), Bridport Arts Centre, Dorset, UK (2013), Fabric of
the Land, Geology Department - University of Aberdeen, Scotland, UK (2013) and Wish You Were Here? - Contains Art, Watchet, Somerset,
UK (2013). In 2013 Westmancoat was awarded an Art and Design Bursary from Taunton Deane Borough Council. Works by Westmancoat
are held in Private Collections in London, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Somerset and the Cayman Islands.

Top right: Surface 3, 2013, Black writing ink, fl oodwater
(collected from Longrun Meadows, Taunton), jojoba and
beeswax on board. Integral frame.
h: 79cm w: 120cm d: 3cm. Held in the collection of Rebecca
and Andrew Fisk, Somerset.
Right: Surface 2, 2013, Black writing ink, snowmelt (collected
from Longrun Meadows, Taunton), jojoba and beeswax on
board. Integral frame.
h: 79cm w: 120cm d: 3cm. Artist’s collection.
Left: Mountain, 2012, Metal plate, rivets, charcoal and pencil
on found board. One of two works selected for Bloomberg New
Contemporaries 2014.
h: 60cm w: 60cm d: 2cm. Artist’s collection.

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