Drawing The Unspeakable

Drawing The Unspeakable

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David and Liza Dimbleby bring new exhibition to Towner 

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Running until Sun 27 April at Towner Eastbourne, a landmark exhibition is continuing to celebrate the magic which can happen just by putting pen to paper. Jointly curated by Liza Dimbleby and her father, veteran broadcaster and outgoing Towner Chair, David, Drawing The Unspeakable provides a fascinating look at what can be achieved with an accessible medium. It brings together a wide range of styles and artists – including David Bomberg, Tracy Emin, Barbara Hepworth, Madge Gill and James Gillray, Carole Gibbins, Emma Talbot, Louise Bourgeois and Kara Walker.

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Joe Hill, Towner Eastbourne’s Director and CEO, says Mr Dimbleby’s tenure as Chair has been transformative for the gallery. “He brought a vision and a gravitas which elevated us from a well-loved regional gallery to a nationally recognised institution,” he tells me. “During his time, we more than tripled our annual visitor numbers, won Art Fund Museum of the Year in 2020, and hosted the Turner Prize in 2023, which delivered a £16 million economic boost to Eastbourne. He championed major initiatives like the Levelling Up project at Black Robin Farm and deepened our commitment to community and education programmes. His legacy is one of growth, ambition, and a clear understanding of the vital role cultural organisations like Towner play in their communities.”

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The exhibition marks a decade since Towner became an independent charity and David Dimbleby was appointed as its Chair. This year, he stepped down from that role, so as a celebration, he and Liza were invited to create an ambitious and thought-provoking exhibition.

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“Towner directed us to galleries that might be open to lending, like Jerwood, Pallant House and Ingram collections,” Liza tells us. “Tate and larger museums demand an advance time frame that would have been beyond us. Ben Uri and Bethlem Museum of the Mind were very helpful and generous with lends.”

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She says the works selected are powerful and fit within the themes of crisis - either personal or political. So, represent things like war, death, mental illness, loss, suffering, displacement and dreams. “We kept all these themes in mind, and they also directed us in our selection of living artists and the approaches which we made to artists’ estates. It wasn’t just professional artists either. I also remembered the refugee drawing books I had seen being made in Paris, so asked my friend who was responsible for getting them catalogued in a public library if we might borrow them.”

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Many of the themes key directly into her father’s illustrious broadcasting career. David Dimbleby chaired Question Time for 25 years and was a reporter for, and presenter of, flagship shows like Panorama. He’s also been the commentator for a variety of State events and presented ten general election programmes, alongside making numerous documentaries for BBC television about art, architecture and the history of Britain. 

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Almost 300 works from around 93 artists are planned to go on show. The Towner pieces including Dennis Creffield’s Study for The Resource of Loneliness (1978), Elisabeth Frink Drawing for Harbinger Bird (1960) and Eric Ravilious, Three Brothers. 

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To David and Liza, drawing is a medium which has the power to convey complex meaning and intense emotion. The exhibition features art which communicates experiences that are beyond words. They navigate the impasse of speech to illustrate what can be shown when words fail. Numbering over 100 works, this exhibition draws on the intensity of human experience, a translation of an event or moment specific to each artist. “Art is its own language, in the way that music is, or dance. The premise of this exhibition is that sometimes visual images can be more effective in shifting thoughts and feelings, more responsive to their complexity, than the ready phrases of language that might push us towards a formula that we don’t necessarily believe, or that fail to connect feeling with words.”

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Accompanying the drawings will be a written dialogue between David and Liza, from their respective viewpoints as journalist and artist, and as father and daughter. “The translations between the language of art and the language of words is also important. The conversations that Dad and I had in relation to the images we selected also helped to deepen our own communication, and articulation of things - from images to words and back again.”

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Liza has written on painting and drawing for a variety of publications and is the author of 2008’s I Live Here Now. She has given talks on drawing across the UK, in Paris, Moscow and Novosibirsk. She teaches at the Royal Drawing School, London and lives and works in Glasgow.  She says David’s love of art has impacted her own practice, as well as offering something which they can find common ground and communicate. “Dad was initially sceptical about me pursuing art as a career, as I was academically good at school and university. I think he thought I’d do something more ‘cerebral’ but he’s reconciled now and actually enthusiastic and supportive. It is a bit of an English thing, that division. It is less marked in other cultures.”

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Towner Eastbourne has been collecting and showing contemporary art for more than 100 years, presenting exhibitions of national and international importance for audiences in Sussex, the UK and beyond. The institution develops and supports artistic practice and collaborates with individuals, communities and organisations to deliver an inclusive, connected and accessible public programme of live events, film and learning. 

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Now Towner Eastbourne is welcoming Stephen Welton and Caroline Lucas to its Board of Trustees, both bringing fresh skills and insight to the role. “Stephen Welton brings incredible experience in finance and leadership, as well as a deep appreciation for the arts,” says Hill. “His strategic insight will be invaluable as we navigate challenging financial times and seek to ensure Towner’s long-term sustainability.

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“Caroline Lucas, with her unwavering commitment to environmental and social justice, aligns beautifully with Towner’s values and ambitions” he continues” She’ll be a powerful advocate for our work, helping us to deepen our connections with the local community and beyond. Caroline will also be a key person in the development of Black Robin Farm, ensuring it becomes a model for arts-led environmental and cultural regeneration. Together, they bring a wealth of expertise and fresh perspectives that will undoubtedly strengthen our board.”

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Hill highlights that the works in Drawing The Unspeakable range from the deeply personal to the globally significant, all sharing a profound engagement with human experience. “The artists featured use drawing as a way to process, communicate, and sometimes reconcile the unspeakable, making visible what might otherwise remain hidden. It’s a powerful and moving exhibition, and having David and Liza work together as curators adds an extra layer of personal connection.”

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The conversations Liza and her father wanted Drawing The Unspeakable to prompt have already started. “The power of the show has been stronger than we hoped for, which I think is part thanks to the brilliant installation team… I have had so many messages from people who are ‘bowled over, struck, staggered, deeply moved…’ And everyone wants to go back again and look more. It feels that these difficult subjects are something people actually want and need to be broached through art, and I believe that the art itself, the visual language, helps people to be with the themes and to find a sort of comfort beyond the pain or difficulty.” 

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“I hope in part in the realisation that they are not alone, that their concerns — mourning or loss or confusion or family conflict or perplexity — are concerns that are shared. There is something about the physicality of a drawing that makes it immediately close to a bodily experience, and I think this is what people are

feeling, the immediacy of the embodied emotions contained within these drawings.”

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Towner Eastbourne hosts Drawing The Unspeakable until Sun 27 April.

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www.townereastbourne.org.uk 

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