Liza Dimbleby & David Dimbleby: Drawing the Unspeakable Creative Conversation

What can drawings do when words fail? 'Drawing the Unspeakable' was a major exhibition at Towner Eastbourne (October 2024 – April 2025) that addressed subjects at the limits of language — war, displacement, birth, death, family, illness, physical and psychic pain, dreams and visions — grounded in the belief that drawing offers a unique way to respond to these deeply human experiences. The medium itself — graphite, pastel, charcoal or ink — can tolerate ambivalence and conflict, often revealing something unexpected even to the artist.

Central to the curation was a unique dialogue between David and Liza, presented through their distinct perspectives as journalist and artist, as well as father and daughter. This dialogue was published as part of the exhibition and continues here, in this Creative Conversation, as they reflect on drawing and language, discuss how the show evolved, and share selected works.

The exhibition featured over 200 drawings from public and private collections, including the Towner Collection, the British Museum, Bethlem Museum of the Mind, Pallant House, and Ben Uri Gallery and Museum. Artists included David Bomberg, Louise Bourgeois, Edward Burra, Prunella Clough, Madge Gill, James Gillray, Barbara Hepworth, Roger Hilton, Ken Kiff, Leon Kossoff, L.S. Lowry, Alice Neel and Paula Rego, alongside contemporary voices such as Tracey Emin, Kara Walker, Andrzej Jackowski, Denzil Forrester, Emma Talbot, Ansel Krut, John Davies, Lorna Robertson, Kathryn Maple, Veronika Peat and Laura Footes.

David Dimbleby is a journalist and broadcaster of current affairs programmes and documentaries for BBC television. He chaired Question Time for 25 years and has been a reporter for and presenter of Panorama. He is the commentator for a variety of State events and presented ten general election programmes. He has made film series for BBC television about art, architecture and the history of Britain. He is the outgoing Chair of Towner Eastbourne. 

Liza Dimbleby is an artist and writer. She has written on painting and drawing for a variety of publications and is the author of I Live Here Now. (Firework, 2008) She has given talks on drawing across the UK, in Paris, Moscow and Novosibirsk. She has taught at the Royal Drawing School, London for 20 years, and lives and works in Glasgow.  

Dr Claudia Tobin is a writer, curator, and art historian specialising in modern and contemporary literature and visual cultures. She recently curated Gardening Bohemia: Bloomsbury Women Outdoors at the Garden Museum in London and has worked with numerous organisations on exhibitions and research projects including at Tate, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Paul Mellon Centre for British Art, as well as with international commercial galleries and contemporary artists. Her recent book publications include a collection of Virginia Woolf's art writings, Oh, to be a Painter! (2021), and Modernism and Still Life: Artists, Writers, Dancers (2020). In collaboration with the Royal Drawing School, she co-edited Ways of Drawing: Artists’ Perspectives and Practices (2019).  She teaches English literature and visual cultures at Cambridge University and is a Bye Fellow at Downing College, Cambridge. 

Towner Eastbourne has been collecting and exhibiting contemporary art for more than 100 years. The gallery sits where the coast and the South Downs meet and presents exhibitions of national and international importance for audiences in Eastbourne, the UK and beyond, showcasing the most exciting and creative developments in modern and contemporary art. Towner develops and supports artistic practice and collaborates with individuals, communities and organisations to deliver an inclusive, connected and accessible public programme of live events, film and learning. Towner’s collection of almost 5000 works is best known for its modern British art – including the largest and most significant body of work by Eric Ravilious – and a growing collection of international contemporary art. Towner Eastbourne was Museum, of the Year 2020 and was the host of Turner Prize 2023.