The Dover Prize has arrived at a pivotal moment. On graduating from a Masters in 2019 I’ve established a career in light-based sculpture and installation, creating large scale public works that connect with vast audiences through interaction and engagement. I see this prize as a broadening of this work and a deep dive into a more intuitive path of enquiry.
Inspiration – Hilma af Klint, (1862-1944) the Swedish abstract artist whose visionary work—spanning mysticism, science, and symbolism—recently rediscovered, feels strikingly contemporary, of particular interest is her use of scale, colour, and form as a scientific exploration. Her vast sketchbooks and immersive-scaled pieces reflect a relentless curiosity and a drive to translate the invisible into the visible. I am interested in the materials she used, paper, eggs and pigment, that endured 20 years of being rolled up in a damp shed.
With the Dover Prize, I would take a dedicated period of time to research af Klint’s process, methodologies and philosophies, through her paintings, writing and sketchbooks. This would form the foundation of a new body of work that expands both my 2D and 3D practice. I want to re-establish a large-scale 2D approach—working with expressive, abstract mark-making, colour and form, on a bold, physical level. Alongside this, I would explore sculptural outcomes that extend these ideas spatially, combining my experience in light, structure and installation with a renewed sense of material play and conceptual depth.
The scale is important. I want the work to envelop and engage—to create a sensory, emotional encounter for the viewer. I see this project as a love letter to Hilma Af Klint, following my own path, one foot in reality and one foot in the unseen. This bursary would allow me to take a leap—both creatively and professionally. It offers the freedom to develop ambitious, thoughtful work rooted in research, experimentation and instinct. It’s a chance to honour the threads I’ve followed quietly for years, and to bring them into full focus.
Darlington’s connection to science—embodied by initiatives such as ‘Pint of Science’—resonates strongly with the evolving direction of my artistic practice. My recent work is increasingly shaped by themes of neurology, the mind-body continuum and the invisible forces of energy and interconnection. These concepts provide both the conceptual and visual framework for the new project I hope to develop within the town.
I work across large-scale 2D and 3D formats, using form, colour, and materiality to explore these intangible ideas in ways that invite reflection and interaction. I’m particularly drawn to the opportunity for meaningful dialogue with Darlington’s scientific community—imagining a creative exchange where shared curiosity about the unseen finds new expression in public space.
The legacy of Hilma af Klint and her group, The Five, is an artistic touchstone. Their explorations of mysticism, intuition, and emerging scientific thought—combined with a structured, collaborative approach—offer a compelling methodology. I see potential in revisiting this framework, reimagining it within Darlington’s unique context.
Ultimately, I hope this work would offer something resonant and quietly radical, enriching the cultural fabric of Darlington with a contemplative, contemporary presence.
My work explores the idea of connection—how we relate to the world around us, to each other, and to our inner selves. I’m fascinated by the places where philosophy and science meet, where ancient wisdom and cutting-edge theory blur. What did our ancestors intuitively understand about the universe? What are we still uncovering at the very edges of scientific enquiry? Where is the mind? How is it all connected? Why do the patterns of the cosmos echo in the smallest cellular forms? And—perhaps most importantly—what meaning can we draw from these observations?
It’s the questions that shape the work I make, transforming into installations that invite people in, physically and emotionally. Past projects include a neon game inspired by Jeremy Bentham’s Felicific Calculus, exploring the pursuit of happiness through playful decision-making. I’ve created life-sized polar bears from recycled materials, surrounded by resin-cast “ice” containing promises from the public on their own eco-footprints. I’ve sculpted neurons, paired with a letter-writing activity encouraging visitors to write from the mind to the body.
My large inflatable neural network pulses with recorded voices, while my interactive light and sound henge holds fragments of shared human wisdom in drawings.
Most recently, I was commissioned by the Thackray Museum of Medicine to create a centrepiece for their Blood: Ties and Tensions exhibition. ‘Vessel’ is a womb-like sculptural space, a tangle of blood vessels. Visitors are invited to step inside—to reflect, to chat, or simply to sit and listen. A subtle heartbeat soundscape plays, layered with voices sharing their personal stories of blood. Light flows through the veins, responding to the sound in much the same way blood carries hormones.
Mirroring Hilma af Klint, my journey began with observational, representational painting—but installation changed everything. Thinking spatially—sculpturally—and designing for experience rather than image has been transformative. Now, I bring that awareness into everything I create.
At the heart of it all, I’m creating spaces to wonder in. To ask questions we may never fully answer, but which draw us closer to ourselves and one another in the asking.
I hold a BA (Hons) in Visual Communication—specialising in Graphic Design and Illustration—from the University of Central England (now Birmingham City University). While the course was commercially focused, I was more interested in socially engaged and exploratory creative practice.
I went on to complete a PGCE and worked as a secondary school art teacher. This role was formative, allowing me to build confidence across a broad range of materials and techniques, while also deepening my understanding of art history, theory, and the role of art in education and community.
Later, I returned to study an MA in Creative Practice at Leeds Arts University, where I was able to critically interrogate my practice and explore ideas around interconnectivity, light, and social engagement within art. This period of reflection and experimentation proved pivotal, leading to my selection for the Shine emerging artist programme and ultimately establishing my career in light-based public art.
My academic background underpins a practice that is both conceptually grounded and materially experimental, and continues to inform how I approach collaboration, research, and the creation of immersive public work.
The shine Programme is a professional grant with residency that guides you into producing an artwork for three major light Festivals. I was also awarded the commission for a partnership project between Glow RHS Bridgewater and LightWaves Salford. I have also worked with libraries through grant/commissions. All of my work has been through commissions or networking opportunities leading to projects that are publicly funded around the UK and international.
All of my work is found through either winning commissions or networking to find my own opportunities. Developing my own networks and joining organisations.
All of the light festivals are council/art council funded large organisations that commission my work both in UK and international. My work has featured in Light Night Leeds, Light Up Lancaster, LightWaves Salford, RHS Bridgewater Glow, Worcester Light Night, Light Up Leicester, Enlighten Accrington, Baylight Morecombe, DOCA Wiltshire, Spilsby light festival among others and internationally at City of Light in Finland. I have also worked extensively with libraries and archives in Leeds and York to deliver engagement and installation projects with local communities. I have also worked with Selby Abbey and their communities with heritage funding to produce projects and installations. I have been funded for different projects by University of Leeds to deliver engagement work which became part of a research project. I have also delivered lots of projects for York Council including character trails and creative festivals.
No, my work model has been of a rental/commissioned for temporary site specific nature.
My projects have been recorded for online presence for the libraries, I believe they may have turned it into a VR experience, and I have recorded a radio interview for the Blood project. All of the festivals have their own platforms they use for promotion in which my work has featured.
As mentioned above the Shine scheme is a funded residency in many ways.
Email: artgemmawood@gmail.com
Address: 4 Reilly Way, Barmby Moor, York, County, YO42 4GB, GB
Local Authority: East Riding of Yorkshire
