Fife Contemporary

“The tension in this work comes from reflecting on my recent autism diagnosis, examining the pull I’ve subconsciously felt between my true self and my neurotypical mask, particularly when thinking about my childhood.

I find collage to be an empowering process, as it allows me to take things apart and then reimagine them, to shape what might appear to be chaotic or broken into what makes sense to me now.

Language has both been a key part of my masking and is one of my main special interests, and all of my work starts with essentially a ‘brain dump’, scrawling out whatever I’m feeling and layering the words on top of each other before turning it all into colourful patterns (or, as I call them, ‘word doodles’).

I then use these to create the collages, often utilising basic shapes to create multiple layers, further transforming whatever messy thoughts I’d initially written down into something that is both simplistic and has depth.

Adding cut and paste text elements gives me the chance to dismantle my previously held notions of the “right way” to use language, to reach for clarity rather than what might impress others.”

Play Home, 2025

“The majority of my work is bright, cheerful and perhaps a little reminiscent of my eighties childhood. By allowing myself to lean into nostaglia, to revert to a time before I’d disconnected from myself, I’ve begun to process the complex feelings surrounding my diagnosis, to understand who I am now through knowing who I was then.”

Collages incorporating paint, text, paper, crayon and ink

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About Beth Hamilton

Beth Hamilton is a Fife-based community artist, storyteller and maker working in mixed media, paint, text and collage. Hamilton is currently focusing on creating zines for and with neurodivergent children, drawing on her experience in participatory storytelling and her increasing interest in visual print work. Hamilton has been a member of the Directory of Storytellers in Scotland since 2016, and has worked with many organisations including the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Historic Environment Scotland and the Fife Cultural Trust.

Beth Hamilton’s mixed media work includes pieces published by Coin-Operated Press and Nerve Zine, participating in The Berrylaw Perspective exhibition at Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum (Dunfermline, 2021), and a zine-maker residency at Glisk Gallery (Burntisland, 2024). 

Find out more about In Tension and see exhibiting pages from other artists