Tell us what your work is about and what informs it?
My work, has always been concerned with the realm of the political, responding to current affairs, and I aim to always keep my practice relevant to politics, society, culture and the economy. For me art works can have an inexplicable power of autonomy, and speak louder than any text or teacher, so if I can explore that, and exploit this autonomous principal to bring about change, inspire hope or cause reflection and interaction with socio-political concepts, then for me my work will have succeeded. Responding to contemporary socio-political issues means to a degree my practice will never be complete, it will always grow and become something new, this way there is always something to make work about, and this gives me my inspiration to always carry on and to always make art.
My final piece (Disco Box) was a resolution of an idea I began at the beginning of the 3rdyear, I first created Disco Box (Vol.1) in response to the growing media hype surround the protest movement the English Defence League. From the beginning of my final year I was keen to include a subversive element in my practice and after reading the work of Slavoj Žižek, I thought humour may act as an accessible link for the audience to use within my practice.
"Disco Box" is a piece I created in homage to and to show support of another very different EDL, the English Disco Lovers, an oppositional protest movement that hope to remove the negativity surrounding the acronym EDL and also through humour and street parties highlight the absurdity in the English Defence League's practice. The Disco lovers hold street parties and events that promote equality, hoping to use party atmospheres and disco music to bring people together instead of pushing them apart with prejudices. After being lucky enough to collaborate with the English Disco Lovers at this years TED X East End convention, I was inspired to return to this original idea, and resolve it to become my all singing and all dancing final degree show work.
Contextually, the theoretical work of Jaques Ranciere and his approach to political aesthetics, and the contemporary theories of Zizek and his approach to society, the economy, religion, culture, consumerism, have been significant. In my final year of study, participation and social/kinetic instillation has become a huge part of my practice. Although my work is often very serious, I have learnt this is not the only way socio-political practice can be handled, and that often a lighter approach is far more direct in its reception, asking the audience to interact instead of offering them something to disconnect or feel isolated from.
Artistically, my original inspiration came from political printmakers of the past (for example the 1910 post-revolutionary Mexican printmakers), however when concerning contemporary artists my inspiration has spread across a number of artists in different disciplines, of which my inspiration draws on all of them, taking different aspects from each of their practices.
What do you think is the most significant thing that has helped you during your time a UCA Farnham?
Group critiques and presentations. They really are a great way to get you talking about your practice, if you can stand up for yourself, and your practice, no matter what someone else says or how they view your work, this will give you the confidence you need to allow your practice to flourish… you are the master of your own practice, and opportunities like this give you a chance to better understand your own work, but more importantly, how others view your work. Sometimes we are so immersed that we don’t see what others see, or read what they read into our practice, so it is good to learn from these kind of experiences.
What did you learn from the process of producing your Farnham exhibition?
I learnt to have confidence in my practice, and to not be afraid of what others might think. I learnt to embrace the fear and push myself further (physically and mentally than I ever had before). Sometimes I did think it would have been easier to simply present a piece of work I had already produced and received good feedback from, however I wanted to learn, I wanted to put myself out there, and I wanted to gain an audiences honest opinions of my latest work, and my possibly riskiest idea. My final piece was the hardest piece of work I have ever created, technically it pushed me further than I even thought I could manage, but seeing it completed, and seeing members of the public interacting with it and most importantly, learning and having fun all at the same time is probably the most rewarding thing I have ever done.
What are you planning next?
I have a number of group shows coming up in London and internationally, then for summer I am off to Berlin, I am planning to take some time, to really think about my practice, as well as see as much art and culture as possible while I am out there. I want to keep a journal to develop further the ideas I have (that I didn’t have time to finish at UCA Farnham) so that I can realise them in my studio later.
In November I have a group exhibition that I am taking part in that I am working towards, after this I will continue my practice, making sure I make time to make my work, and never stop striving to exhibit/ show it, as well as trying to put on group shows myself.
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