Day Bowman

Growing up in a holiday destination and seaside town, it is not surprising that much of Day’s work has referenced the sea, the beach and littoral. In her current series of paintings, the canvases echo the marks, lines and shapes that were made in the wet, grey sand of her home town beach.

She shares, “Acting as our playground, the beach provided a canvas for markmaking, inscribing names, hop-scotch, drawing out goal posts or strange messages to the gods. A concrete paddling pool, a sea wall built high and colourful windbreaks that doubled up as modesty screens all jostled for space and recognition; this was a place where fortifications were swept away by the tide and where gritty tea was drunk from plastic cups. And as the seasons changed, I became aware of how a place full of noise and laughter, people and sunshine became one of out-of season emptiness; the windswept promenades, ripped hoardings and harsh winds had transformed our beach. Only the tides and the lugworm castles were a constant.”

In 2012, Day was commissioned to produce a series of giant hoardings for Weymouth Railway Station, host town to the Olympic and Paralympic sailing events. She has exhibited and curated across Britain and internationally, including the Venice Biennale. She received first prizes in the Bath Arts Open and the inaugural Wales Contemporary