At GIFTED, we champion stories that matter to increase representation and aspiration in the arts and culture space. Today, we’re highlighting Amber Bardell - a Bristol-based visual artist working predominantly with mixed media painting and experimental documentary filmmaking. Their work draws inspiration from natural elements, as well as exploring intuitive dreamscapes and sonically meditative experiences. Bardell graduated from Contemporary Media Practice (BA) at The University of Westminster in 2021, and has recently exhibited her debut solo show at Centrespace Gallery, Bristol: ‘Art is Nourishment’.

Amber - thank you for channelling your art to express joy and to encourage collective care. We’d love to hear more about your solo show, ‘Art is Nourishment’. What inspired this immersive experience?

Thank you for engaging with it! I feel these themes are really important. The show was quite a natural progression from my creative practice - I felt an overwhelming need to be in the room again with people, having hosted wonderful events prior to the pandemic. I wanted to be able to build a calm and playful atmosphere in the space and invite anyone in the room to feel immersed in the dreamscapes I create with my art.

About 7 weeks ago, I suddenly decided a solo show was the answer! I managed to hold it at Centrespace, a brilliant exhibition space that’s been used by artists since the 70’s. They hire on a weekly basis, so host a variety of artists regularly in the centre of Bristol.

You’ve been exploring the role of art for healing for much of your creative career so far - during your show, you also engage an audience into your world through experimental film. We’d love to hear more about your journey with experimental documentary filmmaking…

I have been making experimental shorts for a few years now. My degree explored filmmaking, experimenting with new media, and installation art. I have always been impacted by documentaries, so I made that a focus and created a half hour documentary as a passion project in 2019. This film is entitled ‘Art as Catharsis’ and explores the relationship many creatives have with their work and how it helps them to heal.

The film was born from an experience I had during a minor terror attack at the Louvre museum in Paris. In a moment when I was faced with my mortality, I found comfort in drawing. I realised in that moment just how important creating is to me.

The film I screened in the gallery is a short two-minute film, entitled: ‘Creativity Prevails’. Showing a short piece on a loop works really well for people to engage with as they pass by. ‘Creativity Prevails’ reflects on my own experiences with migraines, anxiety, dissociation and depression. The form of the film is very abstract, remixing footage I filmed in 2018, 2021, and overlaid with more recent animations. Reflecting on times of mental and physical strain, I also acknowledge that creativity is ever-present and can be a way of healing. Whilst depicting migraine visuals, and emulating the feeling of dissociation, the animations guide us in to shots of me creating art and dancing figures, celebrating the feeling of wellness that comes from expressing our creativity.

Using a documentary style, adding animation and a poetic approach really helps me to express myself with more emotional clarity. I look forward to continuing to develop my style, and using it to tell more stories.

Your paintings draw inspiration from the natural world, with colours and elements that evoke a sense of calm and serenity. How have your meditation practices influenced your dream-like imagery?

As an over-thinker, meditation was initially something I struggled with but since discovering that there are so many ways to access it, I have found more focus. Meditation can be painting and creating itself, and so being able to calm my mind and be in a place where imagery can flow freely is really exciting.

When it comes to meditative practice, the main thing for me is acknowledging passing thoughts and images and then letting go of them - returning to stillness. I also lose a lot of ideas in this process, but I find the memorable ones are worth bringing in to my artwork. Following the ebb and flow of how everything works in the natural world really helps me be compassionate with myself and nurture a mindful creative practice.

You’re also a trained holistic sound therapist. What are ‘Sound Baths’, and how have you intertwined both visual and sonic artforms into your work?

This has been a really exciting recent development. I trained a few months ago, after being very drawn to the lady who ran a sound bath on a retreat day that my sister gifted me for my birthday. Sound baths are essentially a form of guided meditation where instruments are played to create an immersive soundscape. Commonly singing bowls or gongs are the main instruments; I use handmade singing bowls and am bringing other percussion to my practice, such as a rain stick and chimes. An immense feeling fills the room as resonant sounds ring out and layer beautifully.

In my sessions, I begin with a short spoken meditation which often invites participants to imagine a journey walking in nature, or to check-in with their body and mind. Then, I create a soundscape for around an hour, and close with my voice, bringing everyone back into the room. Generally, sound baths are very relaxing and can improve sleep, reduce anxiety and stress, as well as many other benefits. They can also be very emotionally opening.

There’s a deep need for collective care, especially as we recover through a global health, climate and racial pandemic. Your art and its iterations explores the notion of nourishment - from your explorations, what is the role of the arts to well-being on a personal and community level?

There definitely is. During the pandemic, I really asked myself a lot of questions about my role as an activist. I wanted to be doing more, and I felt an immense guilt, but I was not in the right place mentally to be doing more. I realised that personal and collective care are actually something we need to prioritise much more before we can put our energy into making important changes in the world. We have to remember that creating boundaries and prioritising rest, health, and care are quite radical things in themselves (unfortunately).

It is an ongoing relationship, and I feel that by providing people with some relief, I can help them be more themselves. So far, I’m attracting lots of like-minded people so I think it is working. I hope that I can continue to engage with local and broader communities by also encouraging them to make art themselves. The act of making can be such a cathartic release and there are many ways to engage with it.

We love to share recommendations to our readers. What are you:

Listening to? Here is a selection of artists I’m enjoying right now: Miles Davis, Digable Planets, ELIZA, Kaytranada…

Reading? A recent favourite is ‘Walking in the Woods: Go back to Nature with the Japanese Art of Shinrin-Yoku’ by Yoshifumi Miyazaki. It’s about forest bathing, something I would absolutely love to experience and eventually combine with sound baths and art making for a day retreat!

I’m currently reading ‘All about Love’ by Bell Hooks, and next, I want to start ‘Braiding Sweetgrass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer.

Watching? The latest film I enjoyed was ‘Girls Girls Girls aka Girl Picture’ (2022) Dir. Alli Haapasalo. A couple of all time favourites are ‘The Last Black Man’ in San francisco (2019) Dir. Joe Talbot, and ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ (2012) Dir. Malik Benjelloul.

Art is Nourishment: Amber Bardell