This brand new exhibition involves an installation of works, inspired by the imagined interior of the unique house of Bendhu, built by artist Newton Penprase on the cragged Northern Irish Antrim coastline. Nicknamed ‘the Battleship’ by locals and started in 1936, the house had no architectural plan or overall design. Instead Penprase added to it as the mood took him, using his bucket of cement to create rooms and windows, platforms and vistas to the sea beyond. Every now and then Penprase would divert his attention from his building to create artworks and details around the site, all sharing a strange, sacred, and mythical theme.

The name ‘Bendhu’ seems to refer to the rocky headland nearby of Bendoo, but perhaps Penprase was enjoying a play on words for by changing one letter to Bandhu, it becomes the Sanskrit term for ‘friend’ or ‘connections’, particularly the ties between the inner and outer world.

Bendhu seemed to be a fusion of these two worlds, a house that was as much a dream as a reality. Never fixed (it was never finished in his lifetime), it was perpetually reconfigured, as vistas and objects were discovered and incorporated. The evolving artist’s installation in this exhibition echoes Penprase’s working methods. It reimagines the fragmented interior of Bendhu, where objects and materials are both familiar yet unfamiliar, sacred yet playful, suggesting a dream-like world where the ordinary is not quite as it seems.

Over the four weeks of the exhibition this sculptural installation will be reconfigured a number of times, in homage to Penprase and his lifetimes project, to his understanding that the process can be an end in itself, and to his example that to rush to completion is not always the creative way. 

About the Artist

Susan Francis MRSS is a skilled multidisciplinary artist, curator and writer creating installations, films and drawings which explore our lived analogue and digital selves. 

Susan has extensive experience within the arts, health and education sectors, in creating, writing, curating and teaching. She has a Masters Degree in Theology, Imagination and Culture with distinction at Sarum College in 2021, funded with an award from The St Michael's Trust, and in 2023 progressed to PhD research with Winchester School of Art (part of the University of Southampton). 

As well as exhibiting internationally, her work is held in public and private collections in The U. K. and North America. Susan is an Associate Artist with Chapel Arts Studios, and also a Member of the Royal Society of Sculptors.

You can discover more of Susan’s work at susanfrancis.com or by following her on Instagram @susanefrancis 

Experience Susan’s own evolving vision of Bendhu House at the Chapel Gallery in the heart of Andover from 23 January – 15 February 2025, open every Thursday through to Saturday from 11am until 4pm. Free admission.