Eliza Jessie Benefield

Originally trained as a painter, Benefield utilises an expanded painting practice which now includes sculpture, moving image, performance and photography. The work embodies the abstract nature of the grid, using their construction to demonstrate internal architectures. Facilitating an escape from the reality imposed on her by current sociopolitical climates, she offers a relevant perspective to audiences about their own existence within present-day society. By posing reflective questions, the work intends to engage viewers in the lived experience of capitalism, considering themes of labour, repetition, emotional fatigue, oppression, and the search for meaning within contemporary life.

Throughout her MA Benefield has been working as an Arts Learning Mentor at SGS College, and her work was displayed at the Lord Mayor of Bristol Children's Appeal Gala and Spike Island's open studios. She will continue to develop her practice at Jamaica Street Studios, exhibiting at their open studios event in September 2026.