Artist Talk by Leigh-Anna
Times: Saturdays from 2pm
Leigh-Anna Barber Corbett is a UK‑based artist and arts practitioner, graduating from the University of Sussex.
Her artistic career began as a Community Art Practioner, encouraging the use of art as a means of expression and communication for children & adults with mental health issues and complex learning disabilities.
Driven by a deep respect for personal narrative and the hidden poetry of discarded objects, Leigh-Anna’s work bridges the gap between memory and materiality. She begins each piece by collecting old, treasured items—tokens of loss and remembrance—and intuitively arranging them like a free‑form jigsaw. Through this process, she discovers new relationships between fragments, honouring individual stories while unveiling the universal beauty found in decay.
Her work is deeply rooted in her own lived experience. Leigh-Anna’s journey through addiction and mental health struggles brought her to the edge of life, and it was in those broken moments that she found a renewed sense of purpose. Her practice became a form of healing- an act of rebuilding from pieces, both literal and emotional. Each assemblage reflects survival and transformation, honouring life, time, and the beauty that can emerge from pain. The process of collecting, placing, and reimagining these objects is not just artistic- it is deeply human, a testament to resilience and renewal.
Leigh-Anna’s signature mosaics and assemblages are constructed from repurposed birds, animals, fish, and skulls. These forms – symbols of freedom, life, the natural cycle-hold deep personal meaning for her. She is drawn to the symmetry and organic movement inherent in these forms, using their natural rhythms to guide her compositions. In her hands, chaos and order coexist meticulously placed jewellery, buttons, watch parts and other one another, creating dynamic tension and visual harmony.
By employing countless small elements, Leigh-Anna invites viewers to explore every inch of her creations, finding fresh details with each glance. Her work is a testament to resilience and renewal—an artistic meditation on how fragments of the past can be reimagined to craft stories of hope and transformation. Leigh-Anna has exhibited at The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and various galleries across the UK and continues to push the boundaries of assemblage art, challenging audiences to see beauty in the remnants of life.
Liberation Art Gallery
38 MEETING HOUSE LANE,
BRIGHTON, EAST SUSSEX,
ENGLAND, BN1 1HB
