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Staff Profile

Henry Coombes

Lecturer in Fine Art

Background

Henry Coombes – Lecturer in Fine Art, Moving Image, 14th November 2017.

Henry Coombes debut feature film ‘Seat in Shadow’ was premiered at Edinburgh

International Film Festival 2016, it won best feature at the Amsterdam Renaissance Film

Festival 2017, and best Micro Budget Feature Film at The Berlin Independent Film

Festival 2017.

Coombes was one of six artists chosen to represent Scotland at the 52nd Venice

Biennale (2007) where exhibited short film ‘Gralloch’. His films have been screened

extensively at film festivals internationally. He has had solo exhibition career has included

'Solo Presentation', Kunsthal Kade, Amersfort (2009); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles

(2008).

Coombes's film 'I am The Architect' was exhibited as part of The 19th Biennale of Sydney

2014, the film was selected for Chanjiang Photography and Video Biennale 2015,

Chongqing, China, where it received the Audience Award. In 2014 his Scottish Bafta

nominated film 'The Bedfords', was exhibited as part of, 'Generation', 25 years of

Contemporary Art in Scotland, Scottish Gallery of Modern Art.

Research

  Henry Coombes makes experimental film developed from both practice-based and theoretical research, and the integration of critical and creative work.  Highly crafted films with the potential impact of creating a meaningful discourse around themes of mental health and creativity, to a national and international audience.

He is currently researching a feature film titled  'Seven Sessions with Jesus', a script in development supported by the Scottish Film Talent Network, New Approaches Film London.  Themes of liberty, addiction, rehabilitation and trauma are explored through the relationship of an officer and a prisoner serving a life sentence.


Teaching
Henry Coombes has studied at London International Film School, Glasgow School of Art, The Chicago Art Institute, and the Centre of Therapy Glasgow. He has exhibited internationally representing Scotland at The Venice Biennale in 2007, and has exhibited his paintings and films, world wide in galleries and museums, and has given talks to the likes of The Hammer Museum LA, and The National Galleries of Scotland. In 2012 he founded Grey Wolf studios in Glasgow a creative hub of  activity, serving as a working studio for some 19 members, with backgrounds and skills encompassing a wide range of disciplines including painting, sculpture, film making, writing and comedy.
He is trained as an integrative therapist, developing and adapting CBT interventions for creative block, helping clients fulfil creative potential. In 2014 along with Rikke Iversholt informed by research, they ran the first CBT group workshop for creative block, achieving positive results.  Delivering 3 week course at Glasgow School of Art , in Creative Potential, using adapted models of CBT.
Between 2014 and 2017 he was the art lecturer in HMP Shotts  a prison holding male prisoners with maximum security classification, the only prison in the Uk to  exclusively holding  prisoners serving a term of 5 years or longer. He curated the exhibition Third Hand, the first exhibition of prison art in Scotland within a contemporary art gallery, for the Glasgow International Festival of Art 2016. The exhibition collected together 'Autonomous Art from Scottish Prisons. He went on to run an the first experimental Film project within a Scottish prison.
He has tutored at Sculptural and Environmental Art Department, Glasgow School of Art, and Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design.


Publications