Tegen Kimbley
Tegen Kimbley, Whispering Reeds, Photograph, 2025. Courtesy: The Artist
Tegen Kimbley is a documentary photographer based in the Black Country. She graduated from the University of South Wales in 2018.
Exploring man-made environments, Tegen documents the people and objects that inhabit them, creating narratives around the everyday and over-looked. Through considered composition, she attempts to generate dialogue around current environmental, social and economic issues, while creating a sense of atmosphere and place.
For Coventry Biennial 2025, Tegen is presenting an amended version of Whispering Reeds, a documentary series of works about her father and his boat that she has been working on since 2014. This new body of work consists of personal archival material, contemporary photographs and her first major moving image artwork.
The project reflects the emotional relationship between a man and his boat, and the trials and tribulations that come with it. The series explores the sentimental value we attach to objects and examines how emotional attachment, often connected to trauma or illness, can serve as a way to regain a sense of lost control.
Sevvek Küçük (Operations Director, Coventry Biennial) comments:
“We’re delighted to welcome Tegen Kimbley back to Coventry Biennial, not as a Building Supervisor (2021) or as a Marketing Officer (2022 – 2024), but as an exhibiting artist in the Obsessions, Possessions programme. This reflects our ongoing commitment to creative professional development and the pride we take in supporting the growth of our interns, volunteers, team members and artists – many of whom go on to achieve great success in their careers.”
Sevven continues:
“We hope our audiences will appreciate the huge talent that we have seen in Tegen as her artistic career continues to flourish, and we look forward to showcasing her artwork as a key part of our 2025 Biennial programme.”
Tegen’s recent group exhibitions have taken place at venues including New Art Gallery Walsall, Midlands Arts Centre (Birmingham, UK), Ffoto Cymru (Cardiff, Wales) and Wolverhampton Outdoor Market as a part of Offsite 9.
– –
Whispering Reeds (2025) was commissioned by Multistory and The New Art Gallery Walsall for Assembly, a creative development and exhibition programme that platforms three emerging Sandwell and Black Country artists yearly. Initiated as part of Multistory’s artist development programme BCN, the opportunity supports emerging artists from across the region, and makes space for them to push their practice and experiment with making new work.
