A powerful new exhibition by Barnsley-based artist Lucy Dewsnap, known professionally as Bearsuit, is set to open as the artist’s first major solo show at Barnsley Civic. Human Animal brings together painting, sculpture, and mixed media works in an exploration of humanity’s complex relationship with the natural world.
Drawing on their working-class background and inspired by the animal kingdom, Bearsuit uses striking imagery to reflect on themes of segregation, class division, and the current empathy crisis. By blurring the lines between man and beast, the exhibition invites visitors to consider the shared struggles and interconnections that shape our lives within an often unforgiving socio-economic landscape.
At the heart of Human Animal lies a challenge to conventional ideas of ‘domestication’ and control. From symbiotic to parasitic, Bearsuit highlights the many ways our interactions with animals mirror human social structures – shedding light on both survival and oppression.
Deeply personal yet universally resonant, the exhibition encourages audiences to reflect on their own roles in reinforcing or resisting the systems that divide society. Through Bearsuit’s unique lens, Human Animal offers a timely and thought-provoking perspective on what it means to live, struggle, and coexist as part of both human and natural worlds.
