Harriet Bowman

Standpoint was delighted to announce Harriet Bowman (b.1990, N.Devon) won the 2024-25 Mark Tanner Sculpture Award.

Bowman, who lives and works in Bristol, was the 22nd winner of the annual sculpture prize and received: £10,000 towards the production of new work over the coming year; a funded solo exhibition at Standpoint in 2025; and a National Touring Programme.

Bowman’s work is multi-faceted, making sculpture through an intensive process of learning, testing and experimentation. She examines the vulnerability of the body in relation to materials and the bodies of others within the processes of production. The sculpture she makes takes the form of installation, objects, performance, photographs, narrative texts and audio.

By building layers Bowman is gathering evidence and investigating material. Writing a narrative, learning the process in detail, working with the physical material, interviewing the humans involved, explaining how it smells, meeting the non-humans, stroking the machines and looking at marks left in the traces of oil, she is always attempting to build a denser body of work.

The Mark Tanner Sculpture Award is the most significant award for emerging UK artists working in the field of sculpture. It seeks to reward outstanding and innovative practice, with a particular interest in work that demonstrates a commitment to process, or sensitivity to material.

Bowman was selected from 300 entries by a judging panel comprising: Alice Channer; Gemma Brace, Head of Exhibitions, Arnolfini; Rebecca Scott, Director, Cross Lane Projects and Mark Tanner Trust; and Steph Huang, MTSA winner 2023/24. There was an extremely strong shortlist of eight artists from across the UK: Guendalina Cerruti, Enej Gala, Agata Madejska, Laura Ní Fhlaibhín, Anna Perach, Madeleine Pledge and Davinia-Ann Robinson.

Harriet Bowman is a multidisciplinary artist born in North Devon and currently living and working in Bristol with a studio at Spike Island. Recent solo exhibitions include: Solo Exhibitions ‘Taking Care of the Yolk’, MIRROR Plymouth, Plymouth, 2024; ‘Maybe they had an urgent call’ (touring) Exeter Phoenix, Exeter, 2023; ‘Maybe they had an urgent call‘ (touring) Devonshire Collective, Eastbourne, 2022; All Round-er (sad sale), Spike Island Gallery, Spike Island, Bristol 2019; putting my foot down, Outpost, Gildengate House, Norwich, 2018.

Recent awards and residencies include: The Cornwall Workshop, Residency led by Mike Nelson at CAST & Kestle Barton, 2024; Awarded the South West Showcase, 2023/24; Henry Moore Foundation Artist Award, 2023 AXIS Fellowship Award, The Art House, Wakefield, 2023-24; Creative Associate at Arts University Plymouth, 2023-24; Recipient of WEVAA bursary, 2023. Harriet is a Lecturer on the UWE BA Fine Art course and a trustee for Spike Island.

Image: Harriet Bowman, Drivers Side (back), & resting point (k) & (h), 2024 Mirror Gallery, Plymouth, 2024. Fused float glass, horse hair (ash), welded metal frames, balustrade clamps. mould blown glass, valchromat, two part foam, welded metal frames, castors. Photo by Dom Moore.