Claire Shoosmith

I put together objects, both found and made, to create installations that tell a story of place, people and memory. Photography is often the starting point for research and sometimes, the end point - to capture the essence of the installations when they are composed of ephemeral elements or are time based in nature.
I place myself in environments where I have a strong sense of feeling or being ‘out of place’, where my visceral reaction to the nature of the space and the materials I gather onsite direct the work I make.
My projects explore the choreography of human interaction and the stories reflect the moments where we connect with each other and the absence when we don’t. A look, a glance, a shared thought.
Conversations overheard, fragmented and taken out of context.
Objects showing the patina of use and repair, the traces we leave behind.
​
I am a director and co-founder of Eastbourne Studio Pottery CIC where I devise and lead workshop programmes with a wide variety of community groups. For my projects, I have successfully raised funds from local and national grant-making bodies including the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council.
2018 PGCE Secondary Art & Design University of Brighton
1995 MA Photography Royal College of Art
1993 BA (Hons) Sculpture Central St. Martins
1990 Foundation in Art & Design Camberwell College of Art
​
Natural Dyeing Ditchling Museum of Art & Craft
City & Guilds Traditional Upholstery London College of Furniture
Wooden puppet carving John Roberts
Diploma Garden Design Writtle College
RHS Certificate in Horticulture Capel Manor
I have exhibited and held residencies at venues in the UK and Europe including Arco Centro de Arte e Comunicacao Visual, Lisbon; Cite des Artes, Paris; Grizedale Arts, Cumbria; Maestranza Studio, Malaga; Fabrik Dieffenbachstr., Berlin; Blue Monkey Shared Space, Curious Projects, DC1 Gallery & Towner Gallery, Eastbourne; Kimbolton Castle; Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills; Notcutt Studios, London.