Tessa Farmer
Tessa Farmer (born 1978, Birmingham, UK) is an artist based in London. Her work, made from insect carcasses, plant roots and other found natural materials, comprises hanging installations depicting Boschian battles between insects and tiny winged skeletal humanoids. Farmer studied at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in 2000 and her Master of Arts in 2003.
Tessa Farmer
- Name
- Tessa Farmer
- Born
- 1978
- Birthplace
- Birmingham, UK
- Field
- Sculpture
- Training
- The Ruskin, Oxford – BA 2000, MA 2003
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- artist · sculptor
- Fields
- art of sculpture
- Education
- Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art
- Known for
- The Wasp Factory
- Honours
- BSFA Award for Best Artwork
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Tessa Farmer (born 1978, Birmingham, UK) is an artist based in London. Her work, made from insect carcasses, plant roots and other found natural materials, comprises hanging installations depicting Boschian battles between insects and tiny winged skeletal humanoids. Farmer studied at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford, receiving her Bachelor of Arts in 2000 and her Master of Arts in 2003.
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Tessa Farmer (born 1978) is a British artist and sculptor. The artist was born in Birmingham.
Tessa Farmer studied at Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art. The artist is active in art of sculpture.
Works include The Wasp Factory. Genres include installation art. Languages used include English. Tessa Farmer received BSFA Award for Best Artwork.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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wikidata · Q7705600 · wikipedia · Tessa Farmer
In this article
Biography
Biography
Subsequent awards include the Vivien Leigh Prize, a sculpture residency in King's Wood, Challock, Kent, and a Royal British Society of Sculptors Bursary Award. Her work is in the collections of the Saatchi Gallery and the Ashmolean Museum among others. In 2015, she won the BSFA Award for Best Artwork 2014, for an installation inspired by The Wasp Factory from Iain Banks.
Tessa Farmer studied at Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art. The recorded working language is English. The field of work recorded is art of sculpture. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are installation art. Works named in the authority record are The Wasp Factory. Distinctions recorded are BSFA Award for Best Artwork.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Tessa Farmer • Born — 1978 • Birthplace — Birmingham, UK • Field — Sculpture • Training — The Ruskin, Oxford – BA 2000, MA 2003 • Works — Miniature Worlds at the Jerwood Space, The Mouse That Roared at Project 133 in Peckham, and The Terror at Firstsite in Colchester.
Family
Family
Her great-grandfather is Arthur Machen – author of The Great God Pan, and The White People. Tessa was unfamiliar with Machen's work until a member of The Friends of Arthur Machen drew her attention to similarities between some of Machen's stories and Tessa's own work. Since then, Machen has become an influence in her artwork.
Selected exhibitions
Selected exhibitions
• 2018 Anima Mundi St Ives, 'Out of the Earth' • 2018 Leeds Arts University Leeds, 'Zsofia Jakab:Beckoning' • 2017 bo.lee gallery London, 'Nature's Alchemy' • 2016 Griffin Gallery London, 'Perfectionism (Part III): The Alchemy of Making' • 2016 Studio 3 Gallery, Kent London, 'Curio: Sites of Wonder' • 2015 Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities London, 'In Fairyland' • 2015 Leeds College of Art Leeds, 'In Fairyland' • 2014 The Holburne Museum Bath, 'Unwelcome Visitors' • 2012 Spencer Brownstone Gallery New York, 'ISAM: Control Over Nature' • 2012 Millennium St Ives, 'From the Deep' • 2011 Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities London, 'The Coming of the Fairies' • 2011 Crypt Gallery London, 'ISAM: Control Over Nature' • 2011 Danielle Arnaud Contemporary Art London, 'Nymphidia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Tessa Farmer , Axis feature
- 2.Newcontemporaries 2004 | selected artists 2004 | Tessa Farmer.
- 3.CampbellJohnston, Rachel. Breakthrough Award the shortlist. The Times. 8 January 2008.
- 4.Flood, Alison. British Science Fiction awards honour 3D Wasp Factory. The Guardian. 7 April 2015.
- 5.In Conversation With Tessa Farmer. Antennae. 1. 3. 16–24. 2007.
References
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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