Artist statement Karen Brett

The concerns within Karen Brett's practice are people orientated and explore challenging issues that are concealed away from the public eye. Brett investigates the psychological representation of the human condition, and has always been interested in the unseen, addressing a private moment and trying to express it in a way that is moving and non-judgmental. Brett predominantly works in photography, moving image and sound. Her work to date has explored mental health, domestic abuse and intimacy in the third age.

• Conversations with Myself, MA show, London College of Communication, London, Nov-Dec 2005.

• The Myth of Sexual Loss, Le Mois de la Photo a Montreal, La Centrale, Montreal, Canada, Sept - Oct 2005.

• East International - Norwich gallery, Norwich School of Art and Design, July - August 2004.

• The Home Idea Show - Group show curated by Eshoda Arts, Hotbath Gallery, Bath. March - May 2004.

• The Myth of Sexual loss - Solo exhibition, Ffotogallery @ Turner House, Penarth, Wales. August - September 2003 & Trace, Weymouth, Nov - Dec 2003, Folly gallery, Lancaster, Jan - March 2004 and Michael Tippett Centre March - April 2005.

• 2gether 4ever - Touring exhibition sponsored by Lilly ICOS a campaign to promote the sexual rights of older people, Elms Lester Painting rooms, Soho. London, Nov 2003 and touring.

• Changes: Memory Palette - Group exhibition, North East Somerset Arts, Radstock Community Centre, Sept 2003.

• Waiting rooms - Healthcare commission, group exhibition & touring solo exhibition, Bath & Bristol, commencing at the Hotbath gallery, May 2001 - currently touring.

• In Theory - Group exhibition, BANA artists network, unused building, Bath, May 2001.

• WEST - Wales 1st Ffotobiennial 2000, 3rd Prize, touring group exhibition - Ffotogallery, Cardiff, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, Swansea / Aberystwyth Arts Centre / Wrexham Arts Centre - Nov 2000 - Oct 2001.

• Better Safe than "Sorry "- Community arts solo exhibition, Acorn Theatre, Penzance, Nov 2000 - Jan 2001.

• Places of Life - Group Exhibition, La Cartaia, Prato, Tuscany, April - May 2000.

• Refuge - Women's Aid National Conference. Solo exhibition and workshop, Liverpool University, July 1999.

• Agoraphobia -Developmental Arts for Mental Health.Group exhibition, Project ability, Glasgow, June-July 1999.

• Making an Impact - Conference on the effects of domestic violence on children. Solo Exhibition, London, June 1998.

• Point Zero - Zero Tolerance of Violence against Women Campaign. Group Exhibition, Create Centre, Bristol, May 1997.

• 2gether 4ever - Touring exhibition sponsored by Lilly ICOS a campaign to promote the sexual rights of older people, Aug 2003 - Sept 2004.

• Memory Palette - Commissioned to work with elderly participants in their own homes creating artwork combining the past with the present. Co-ordinated by NESA - North East Somerset Arts, April - June 2003.

• Waiting Rooms - Artistic interpretation of patients perception of waiting areas within healthcare practices. Jan - March 2001. Touring exhibition, Bath, Bristol and Wales, 2001 - 2006.

• Just Another Day - Recording the events of people for whom the dawning of the millennium was just another day, Great Orme Nursing Home, Llandudno, Dec 1999 - Jan 2000. Touring Group Exhibition, various venues in Wales and Bath, 2000 -2003.

• Grants for the arts - Awarded by The Arts Council of England, South West for the development of new work concerning Body Dysmorphic Disorder. August 2006.

• Small Wonders - Picture This, Film/Video mentoring scheme for artists, 2004- 06.

• Awards for Artists - Awarded by The Arts Council of England, South West for the development of new work concerning Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Feb 2003.

• Melhuish Fine Art Award - Awarded by South West Arts for the continuation of personal work concerning the ageing sexual body, Jan 2001.

• European Award for women photographers - 1st Prize, Self Imprisonment - Group Exhibition, Prato, Tuscany, April - May 2000.

• Image & Imagination, Catalogue, Le Mois de la Photo a Montreal, 2005.

• East International, Catalogue, Group show, Norwich Gallery, Norwich, 2004.

• Nextlevel, Edition 01, Volume 02, London, 2003.

• WEST, Wales 1st Ffotobiennial, Catalogue, Ffotogallery, Cardiff, 2000.

• Places of Life, Catalogue, Dryphoto Arte Contemporanea, Tuscany, Italy, 2000.

• MA in Photography, London College of Communication, 2005.

• Arts in the Community Development - 2000.

• Further Adult Education Teaching Certificate - 2000.

• BA (Hons) Documentary Photography (First Class) - 1995-1998, University of Wales, Newport.

• Foundation Diploma in Photography (Merit) - Filton College, Bristol, 1994 -1995.

Selected Career & Work Experience

• Visiting Lecturer - BA Documentary Photography, BA Photographic Art, University of Wales, Newport, 2005 - present.

• Part-time Lecturer - AS-Level, Foundation and HND Photography and OCN Photography modules, Filton College, Bristol, Jan 1999 - present.

• Lecturing Documentary Photography, Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Jul 2000 - present.

• Freelance Artist - Bristol Youth Inclusion Project, Barton Hill, Bristol, photographic project concerning the issue of bullying, June - July 2003.

• Freelance Artist - NESA, North East Somerset Arts, Co-ordinating community photography workshops within Mental Health, April - August 2003.

• Co-ordinator of Creative Photography workshops, University of Bath, Oct 2000 - 2004.