The Harry and Margery Boswell Art Collection: Artworks

Elaine Shemilt (born 1954)

Image in a Bell Jar, about 1994

Print

Elaine Shemilt was born in Edinburgh. She studied sculpture at Winchester School of Art from 1973 to 1976 followed by postgraduate study in printmaking at the Royal College of Art from 1976 to 1979.

The image shows a bell jar, a large hollow cylindrical glass vessel with a domed top and flat base. Shemilt achieves the three-dimensional quality of the bell jar through the use of line, form and tone. She focuses on what lies behind the surface image. The shadows and reflections create depth with images through the bell jar and the distortions beyond. Shemilt supervised the 'Thursday's Child' exhibition in Dundee.

Elaine Shemilt, Image in a Bell Jar, about 1994.