Fionn Wilson

The exhibition ‘Fenella Fielding: Actress’ is a celebration of the life and career of the late Fenella Fielding. Working closely with her friend, archivist and biographer, Simon McKay and the Fenella Fielding Foundation, we’ve added to the archive of her life through the creation of new material. The exhibition acknowledges Fenella’s continued relevance and the gift of herself, which she gave to acting.

To pay tribute to Fenella, I’ve commissioned a total of fifteen paintings from five artists (Natalie Dowse, Sal Jones, Cathy Lomax, Jeanette Watkins and myself). Through these new works, we examine Fenella and her life through five prisms: Fenella the theatre actress; the film and television actress; her carefully crafted image (the makeup, the wigs, and THOSE eyelashes!); the infamous Carry On Screaming ‘smoking’ scene (but from a slightly different angle) and Fenella herself, in more unguarded moments, where we may perhaps catch a glimpse of Fenella when she is not acting.

I’ve painted Fenella from theatre/publicity stills playing the lead role as Hedda Gabler (1969), Colette (1970) and Helen of Troy in Helen (1972). You can see one of these paintings Fenella as Colette, 1970 (2022) below.

Simon and I recently spoke with presenter Jo Good on BBC Radio London about the exhibition. You can listen to this here:

‘Fenella Fielding: Actress’ opens on 9 November at Gallery 286 and runs until 18 December. Please see the gallery for further details HERE.

Find out more about The Fenella Fielding Foundation HERE.

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