Hannah Battershell was born in Cardiff in 1983, and grew up in Malawi and boarding school in London and now lives and works in Bristol. Her work shows a passion for her materials: matchboxes, acrylic, ink, vintage tobacco tins, old clocks and, especially, paper. Her pieces take many forms - from intricately layered paper landscapes, to diorama-like scenes in tobacco tins, to buttons that are inked, painted and scratched into miniscule ghostly portraits – but are all linked by Hannah’s distinct style and wit. Minutely detailed, Hannah’s work asks you to peer up close into its eerie but playful world. Each piece is like the fragment of a lost story, retaining a deliberate sense of ambiguity or mystery, inviting the viewer to wonder and draw from their own imagination to fill in any blanks.
Hannah’s work is informed by an interest in growing spaces and the natural world, Medieval illuminations, her dreams, and the things she reads. As well as coming from the materials themselves, inspiration might also come from a half-remembered quotation or something seen in a smudge or torn scrap of paper.
Hannah Battershell’s exhibitions include various shows at GX Gallery (London) and solo shows at Curwen Gallery (London), and The Rectory Gallery (London). Other exhibitions include the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions 2011, 2013 and 2014 and the Other Art Fair, and the National Open Art Competition.