Tamsyn Challenger is a multi-disciplinary artist. Her visual work has focused on wide-ranging socio- and gender-political ideas including precursor work on selfie culture, and questioning the ‘free’ environment online, as well as scrutiny of social media, truth and identity. In autumn 2024 her first poems, ‘''White Cube''’and ‘''Hearing a pigeon crunch on a rail''’ were published b
Anthropocene Poetry Journal
curated by the poet, HLR. Her poetry has since appeared in a number of magazines and journals along with filmpoem work published b
Ink, Sweat and Tears
She’s known for her gender-political work ''400 Women'', which took five years to create and comprises portraits by nearly 200 artists, including

Maggi Hambling Margaret J. Hambling (born 23 October 1945) is a British artist. Though principally a painter, her best-known public works are the sculptures '' A Conversation with Oscar Wilde'' and '' A Sculpture for Mary Wollstonecraft'' in London, and the ...

Paula Rego Dame Maria Paula Figueiroa Rego (: 26 January 1935 – 8 June 2022) was a Portuguese visual artist, widely considered the pre-eminent woman artist of the late 20th and early 21st century, known particularly for her paintings and prints based o ...

Zoe Laughlin Zoe Laughlin () is a British artist, maker and materials engineer. She is the co-founder and Director of the Institute of Making at University College London. She is a regular panelist on the BBC Radio 4 show The Kitchen Cabinet. Laughlin was ...

and Celia Paul. Challenger studied at

Winchester School of Art Winchester School of Art is the art school of the University of Southampton, situated 10 miles (14 km) north of Southampton in the city of Winchester near the south coast of England. History Winchester School of Art (WSA) was founded in 1 ...

and at the

University for the Creative Arts The University for the Creative Arts is a specialist art and design university in Southern England. It was formed in 2005 as University College for the Creative Arts at Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester when the Kent Institu ...

(formerly Kent Institute of Art and Design) where she has subsequently been a visiting lecturer. Her sister is the author Melanie Challenger. Exhibited across the UK and internationally, Challenger has been an invited speaker at the

Women Of The World Festival WOW – Women of the World Festival (WOW, WOW Festival) is a network of arts festivals that celebrate the achievements of women and girls as well as highlighting the obstacles that face them, and is part of a global feminist movement. The WOW F ...

, UAL, RHUL,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

Universities. She has made a documentary for the BBC, ''My Male Muse'', with poet Clare Pollard being chosen for Radio 4's "Pick of the Year". In 2017, she was invited to deliver the David Vilaseca Memorial Lecture at Royal Holloway University. After this lecture she was appointed a member of the Advisory Committee for the Centre of Visual Cultures at Royal Holloway.

Work

Challenger's first solo show was ''The Tamsynettes'' at Transition Gallery run by Cathy Lomax in

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in London, England, and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in east London and part of the East End of London, East End. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common la ...

in March 2010. This is an ongoing work looking at stylised layers of beauty through mapping her corporeal deterioration over the course of her lifetime. ''The Tamsynettes yr 2'' was shown as part of the

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

(

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

, London) show ''Fraternise-the Salon'' in May 2011, showing alongside

Tracey Emin Dame Tracey Karima Emin (; born 3 July 1963) is an English artist known for autobiographical and confessional artwork. She produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, Neon lighting, neon text ...

Franko B Franko B (born 1960 in Milan) is an Italian performance artist based in London, where he has lived since 1979. He studied fine art at Camberwell College of Arts (1986–87), Chelsea College of Art (1987–90) and the Byam Shaw School of Art (199 ...

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

Mark Wallinger Mark Wallinger (born 25 May 1959) is an English artist. Having previously been nominated for the Turner Prize in 1995, he won in 2007 for his installation '' State Britain''. His work ''Ecce Homo'' (1999–2000) was the first piece to occupy th ...

and

Sarah Lucas Sarah Lucas (born 1962) is an English artist. She is part of the generation of Young British Artists who emerged in 1988. Her works frequently employ visual puns and bawdy humour by incorporating photography, sculpture, collage and found object ...

, among others. In 2006, Challenger began developing the idea for ''400 Women''. Politically concerned with

gender violence Gender-related violence or gender-based violence (GBV) refers to any kind of violence directed against people due to their gender or gender identification, culture may have a role to play, being lower in egalitarianism societies and higher, sexist ...

, ''400 Women'' began for Challenger when she visited Mexico in 2006 and is focused on the murdered and missing women of Juarez (see Female homicides in Ciudad Juárez). Challenger brought together a critical mass of nearly 200 international artists including

and Celia Paul to address issues of mortality and the capacity of art to imagine the dead, violence and trauma, with the aim of re-personalising the individual from a statistic. The show premiered in November 2010 at

Shoreditch Town Hall Shoreditch Town Hall is an independent cultural, live events and community space in Shoreditch, London. The building, which previously served as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, is a Grade II listed building. History ...

Basement space, London, supported by the

Arts Council An arts council is a government or private non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the arts; mainly by funding local artists, awarding prizes, and organizing arts events. They often operate at arms-length from the government to prevent pol ...

and

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

. The site-specific installation was subsequently selected as part of the

Edinburgh Art Festival The Edinburgh Art Festival is an annual visual arts festival, held in Edinburgh, Scotland, during August and coincides with the Edinburgh International Festival, Edinburgh International and Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Fringe festivals. The Art Fes ...

2011. ''400 Women'' continues to tour internationally. In 2012 Challenger was invited to contribute to a new protest book in conjunction with

Pussy Riot Pussy Riot is a Feminism in Russia, Russian feminist protest and performance art group based in Moscow that became popular for its provocative punk rock music which later turned into a more accessible style. Founded in the fall of 2011 by the th ...

that was published by

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

, ''Let's Start A Pussy Riot''. She was one of several contributors including

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

Judy Chicago Judy Chicago (born Judith Sylvia Cohen; July 20, 1939) is an American feminist artist, art educator, and writer known for her large collaborative art installation pieces about birth and creation images, which examine the role of women in history ...

Carolee Schneemann Carolee Schneemann (October 12, 1939 – March 6, 2019) was an American visual experimental artist, known for her multi-media works on the body, narrative, sexuality and gender. She received a B.A. in poetry and philosophy from Bard College and ...

and several rock and punk musicians. Challenger was the only artist to produce a new sculptural work for the book which consists of a highly coloured fully operational ducking stool, shown as a precursor work to ''Monoculture''. Since 2022, the ''Ducking Stool'' sculpture has been on permanent loan a
Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens
From June 2012 to February 2013, Challenger was in residence at Beaconsfield Gallery BAW in London under the curatorial direction of David Crawforth and Naomi Siderfin, where she began exploring cultural homogeneity and the "

selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph or a short video, typically taken with an electronic camera or smartphone. The camera would be usually held at arm's length or supported by a selfie stick instead of being controlled with a self-timer ...

" portrait through her project ''Monoculture''. In 2013, ''Monoculture'' premiered at Beaconsfield and consisted of new large scale sculptural works that explored the relationship between

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

and self-representation. The work was recommended by the

Contemporary Art Society The Contemporary Art Society (CAS) is an independent charity that champions the collecting of outstanding contemporary art and craft for UK museum collections. Since its founding in 1910 the organisation has donated over 10,000 works to museum ...

in April 2013. This work was supported by the

. ''Monoculture'' was then shown as part of the

2014, where it has been described by the New Scientist as "mesmerising and horrifying in equal measure". Her vocal project ''Twitter Chorus'' was a further development taken from the ideas behind ''Monoculture'' and was voiced for the first time in England in 2015 at the

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is an arts centre in London, England. It is adjacent to the separately owned National Theatre and BFI Southbank. It comprises the three main performance spaces – the Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and Purcell R ...

. It was subsequently performed at the New Hall Art Collection, MEC, Cambridge University in November 2015 with anarchic performance group Gaggle. In March 2016 this work was staged on a dramatic scale with hundreds of voices from multiple choirs as part of the Chorus Festival,

. In 2016 she returned to

Summerhall Summerhall is an arts complex and events venue in Edinburgh, Scotland. Formerly home to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies of the University of Edinburgh, it is now a major Edinburgh Festival Fringe visual and performing arts venue. ...

with new work, ''HYPER BOWL'' which was developed and shown for their visual art festival programme, and written up in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' as "the paramount, walk-in art for the age of Trump". ''Free The Pussy!'' was Challenger's first curatorial exhibition, shown first at Summerhall alongside

's performance residency "Riot Days" during the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

2018. She made a series of new "curatorial" interventions including the controversial ''The Royal Pussy'' signage, ''Corridor Dancefloor'' and ''40 second miaow clock''. Challenger also collaborated with

in a reshaping text work of Ono's 1985 song ‘Hell In Paradise’ and with punk artist

Jamie Reid Jamie Macgregor Reid (16 January 1947 – 8 August 2023) was an English visual artist. His best known works include the record cover for the Sex Pistols single " God Save the Queen", which was lauded as "the single most iconic image of the pun ...

to create ''Putin Trampoline'', from his protest poster ''Free Pussy Riot''. The ''Empty Nest'' sculpture was unveiled ahead of her David Vilaseca Lecture entitled ''On Truth'' and displayed as part of the collection in the Royal Holloway University Picture Gallery.

Curatorial

In 2018, Challenger curated her first exhibition, ''Free The Pussy!'', which sprang out of her previous association with

. The exhibition was predominantly made up of archive work from 2012, when the "Riot" sent out their call to arms to the creative community; some of this work was also featured in the book ''Let's Start a Pussy Riot''. Artists featured in the ''Free The Pussy!'' exhibition were No Bra,

, Challenger herself, Billy Chyldish, Gaggle, Gera ( Nadya Tolokonnikova's daughter), The Gluts, Hayley Newman,

, Miss Pokeno,

, John Keane, Layla Sailor, Wendy Saunders,

and Voina.

Media

Radio and television

Tamsyn Challenger has written and produced programmes for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

and

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

, has been featured on BBC Two's ''

The Review Show ''The Review Show'' is a British discussion programme dedicated to the arts which ran, under several titles, from 1994 to 2014. The programme featured a panel of guests who reviewed developments in the world of the arts and culture. History ''T ...

'', BBC Two's ''Edinburgh Nights ''with

Nish Kumar Nishant Kumar (born 1985) is a British stand-up comedian, television presenter and podcaster. He became known as the host of ''The Mash Report'' on BBC Two and U&Dave, Dave. He has also presented ''Newsjack'' on BBC Radio 4 Extra, ''Joel Domme ...

, BBC World Service ''Arts Hour'', BBC Radio 4's ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History The first BBC programme for women was the programme cal ...

''. Internationally, she has been featured on The Netherlands' ''

Nieuwsuur Nieuwsuur (''News Hour'') is a Dutch current affairs television programme produced for the NPO, produced by the public broadcasters NOS and NTR. It is broadcast daily between 9:30 pm and 10:15 pm (9:30-10 pm at weekends) on NPO 2. The progra ...

'' and KRO De Wandeling.

Critical comment

"It feels important still to challenge the boundaries (literally) of what a gallery is — and that's something you did with the signage. I really think you created 'art' by 'transgressing' in that way, and though it felt depressing it was part of the challenge you set up by curating the show." – Joanna Walsh discussing ''Free The Pussy!'' for the ''

LA Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012 ...

'', 2019 "As a metaphor for the treatment of Pussy Riot, it's on the money." – Nadine McBay's appraisal of the "Ducking Stool" sculpture, ''The National'', 2018 "Challenger's wry, playful but nevertheless piercing critique infiltrates hyperbolic language from the inside – this is what makes the bowl shape of her structure so interesting. Not only is it an echo chamber in which hyperbole resounds and reverberates, but it also physically manifests hyperbole's tendency towards totalising: literally enveloping and entrapping discourse." – Colin Herd for ''

Aesthetica ''Aesthetica Magazine'' is a publication focusing on art and culture. Established in 2002, the magazine provides bi-monthly coverage of contemporary art across various disciplines, including visual arts, photography, architecture, fashion, an ...

'', 2016 "Brill" – Mary Beard commenting on ''The Love-Byte'' (part of ''Monoculture'') via Twitter. "Mesmerising and horrifying in equal measure." – Kat Austen writing on ''Monoculture'' for the ''

New Scientist ''New Scientist'' is a popular science magazine covering all aspects of science and technology. Based in London, it publishes weekly English-language editions in the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia. An editorially separate organ ...

'' in 2014 "A few more shows of the calibre of Tamsyn Challenger's tribute to the victims of Mexico's drugs war would have given this year's Edinburgh Art Festival a much-needed sense of global urgency and energy... 400 Women...is like a bullet to the brain" – Moira Jeffrey writing on ''400 Women'', ''

Scotland on Sunday ''Scotland on Sunday'' is a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published in Edinburgh by National World and consequently assuming the role of Sunday sister to its daily stablemate ''The Scotsman''. It was originally printed in broadsheet format but in ...

'', 2012 "Stalin said, one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic. And what she's trying to do is retrieve the individual tragedies from the statistic. And to feel like you're being watched by these women'...'It's so good at locating both the individual and the wider picture..." –

Johann Hari Johann Eduard Hari (born 21 January 1979) is a British writer and journalist. Until 2011, Hari wrote for ''The Independent'', among other outlets, before resigning after admitting to plagiarism and fabrications dating from 2001 to 2011. Since t ...

for BBC Two ''

'', 2010

References

External links

Tamsyn Challenger official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Challenger, Tamsyn Living people People from Penzance English installation artists English women artists Alumni of the University for the Creative Arts Year of birth missing (living people)