Part of the New Light Prize Exhibition 2020

Lynn Bates is a contemporary artist who has been living and working in Cumbria for 20 years. She trained as a fine artist as the Byam Shaw School of Art (1978-83), then as a postgraduate at the Royal Academy of Art (1983-86) before going on to train and work as a scenic artist at the BBC, painting vast cloths for TV sets which gave her a taste for large paintings. Lynn has exhibited in various galleries over the years; Cadogan Contemporary, Cork Street and Fulham Galleries in London; Tullie House; Upfront Gallery; Rheged as well as the RA Summer Show.

The Wastepickers was inspired by scenes from the Subcontinent. Despite the chaos and human struggles, there is beauty. This painting is an attempt to capture the beauty and atmosphere that are a backdrop to the desperate struggles of everyday living in a Capitalist system, and the incomprehensibly enormous task of clearing the devastation it has caused in the world.