Faye Dobinson - Artist
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What do you consider your greatest achievement?
Maintaining the rich weave of the roles of artist, single mother, and of being a Love Activist! It’s been the ultimate balancing act for me as I have such a rich inner world and engage so deeply with the outer world too that I can get a little overwhelmed!
My solo travels in far flung locations, including twice on the Trans Siberian Railway, through India and Nepal, and also having exhibitions in Tibet and Mongolia which I feel are also worth a mention…
What motivates you to do what you do?
I have a deep drive to make art, to use creativity and to love people, all in the service of Love as a fierce force for change. I have never had a natural sense of logic or order, which has made life more beautiful though often very difficult when trying to manifest my ideas and visions! I have a cross-disciplinary experience of applying a creative, heart-led approach to different endeavours - personally, politically, culturally and socially. And the result is always an unfurling heart and therefore increased peace, productivity, connection and love.
I firmly believe in collaboration, the creation of community and honouring existing community. I see that artists and creatives can help society reimagine situations and scenarios and therefore open up spaces of possibility, hope and resolution.
What do you owe your mother?
Apart from a million pounds, I owe my mother everything - my life full stop, my life as an artist. She is exemplary as a woman who loves fiercely, works hard, believes in the arts and has humour on her side (she is also a total romantic on the quiet, as am I!). We are alike. She can drive me insane. I love her massively.
Which women inspire you and why?
My female friends that see all the reasons that something is going to work rather than why it won’t.
My sister Emma is a true force and inspiration. Due to a dreadful accident she was in a coma and we were told horror stories about her future (or rather the lack of it). She proceeded to blow us all away by rehabilitating and healing in the most incredible way and is now a very successful and respected Producer in often what might be seen as challenging countries and contexts. For instance, she helped produce the first episodes of BBC’s Question Time with, and for, Palestinian TV, while living and working there.
What are you reading?
I’ve just been blown away by ‘Mary Magdalene Revealed: The First Apostle, Her Feminist Gospel and the Christianity we Haven’t Tried Yet’ by Meggan Watterson. I currently have to keep it with me like a comfort blanket as it made me feel so seen and heard in terms of the courage required to pursue a life lived in love.
Two all-timers that I dip into again and again are ‘Women That Run With the Wolves’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes and ‘To Bless the Space Between Us’ by the beautiful human John O’Donohue. Each of them I administer like medicine, with a dose being the random opening onto a page and drinking in the wisdom.
What gender barriers have you had to hurdle?
The emphasis on appearance equalling worth for women.
Coming of age as a female in London in the 80s and 90s meant stewing in a strange and restrictive pot of assertions about what one should look like, which I always found hard and exhausting. These ideas kept women much smaller and it felt like a constant push against a ridiculous limitation. My preoccupation with my looks and how they didn’t ‘fit’ this nonsense ideal used up far too much of my energy as a younger woman, energy that could have been spent on so much more of good. But being from a largely matriarchal family, I simultaneously had this reality of women as being funny, clever, quick, caring and a bit fierce reflected back to me. Thank goodness! It’s that force that my recent body of work has somehow given form to – it’s called, ‘The Rhythms Don’t Walk Alone: Discussion of Power and Love’, and suggests a way of being and moving through life that is rooted in generosity of spirit, vulnerability, radical kindness, humour as a tool to connect, fierce love, authenticity, dignity and the adopting of a more creative approach to shared concerns and sticking points. It is a way of freedom, rooted in love. That’s the world I am presenting to my 12 year old daughter!
How can the world be made a better place for women?
A world where a woman’s contribution is valued regardless of her configuration would be ace?
A world where female professionals are regarded in the same way as male professionals in ALL industries wouldn’t go amiss…
Women getting paid the same as men for the same job…
I could go on!
A massive step would be women being taught their history too - that is, the broad, brave, full story of women for the last 2000 years and beyond, and not just the edited highlights. We’ve only really heard about Mankind in any rich and complex way…and he sometimes has lacked imagination and humour! We are rewriting humanity’s story now INCLUDING womankind, so it’s going to be a much better, balanced, wry read.
Describe your perfect day?
Warm sun on my bones and shining in my face, a little adventure, art, laughter, wonderful food, a twilight swim and a rich warm night of sitting outside, laughing, talking, dining with people I love, culminating in dancing to phenomenal tunes (and some excellent kissing).
We've noticed there really aren't many (if any) statues of women around Cornwall - who would you see remembered?
I reckon I would honour the ‘Soul of the Cornish Woman’ - she who has endured the same struggles as the men who are celebrated, but from a different vantage point. The terrifically hard, gruelling and relentless work of keeping a house running, keeping a family flourishing while also more often than not having another job on top of that, all in a climate and landscape that can be unkind and harsh. A celebration of a true and alternative view of female experience.
Give us a tip?
Apart from putting a beer bottle top into the bottom of a lump of soap to stop it sticking to the sink (you are welcome...), I would say: keep doing what you can to re-humanise people rather than dehumanise them. It’s often hard, but regularly (not always, of course) reaps beautiful rewards. We all judge, and often negatively, but it’s what we do with those judgements, that’s where the gold is. I endeavour to talk to people, to find a point of connection, no matter how small, that helps us ‘see’ each other as a fellow human. As a result, even for a moment, we feel less alone and we are all in this together - and THAT is a great reminder, in these often challenging times.
About Faye Faye Dobinson was born in London in 1976 and now lives in Penzance. She studied Fine Art at Camberwell College of Art 1994-95 and Falmouth University of Art 2006-2011.
After leaving Camberwell College, Faye was at times a croupier in London casinos, also running creativity-based youth projects and teaching children with emotional and behavioural issues. She travelled extensively on her own exploring the link between topography and location with art, resulting in solo exhibitions in both Mongolia and Tibet. She continued making and exhibiting and also helped establish Europe’s first contemporary Tibetan art gallery in East London. Her move to Cornwall in 2006, itself a continuation of the influence of location over her artwork, coincided with discovering she was pregnant with her daughter, which led her to resume her studies at Falmouth University with her 9 month old, where she obtained a First Class Degree. Since then Faye has had a residency at Porthmeor Studios in St Ives while having a studio at Trewidden Gardens, Newlyn. She leads the year-long ‘Defining Practice’ course alongside her own shorter courses in Experimental Figure work at The Newlyn School of Art and is also a Visiting Practitioner at The London College of Fashion.
Faye’s exhibition ‘The Rhythms Don’t Walk Alone: Discussion of Power and Love’ is open at the new Jupiter Gallery in Newlyn, until 31/12/19, 11-6pm Wednesday to Saturday.
The next event in the space is Faye in conversation her work and process with artist Rob Unett on 8/12/19 from 1.30pm.
Visit www.jupitergallery.co.uk and www.fayedobinson.com for more information.