Collect Art/ Tbilisi, Georgia

www.collectartwork.org
info@collectartwork.org
collectartwork@gmail.com
ADRIAN FLAHERTY | ALLAN LINDER | AMY JACKSON |
BECKY MORIARTY | ELA VULTUR | ERIKA ZANELLI |
IRENE HARMSWORTH | JANE WALKER |
NATA BUACHIDZE | PETE CLARKE | QIANQIAN LI |
TAMAR KHELASHVILI | ZIYAN LIU

Color your Destination

The City
BY C. P. CAVAFY
TRANSLATED BY EDMUND KEELEY

You said: “I’ll go to another country, go to another shore,

find another city better than this one.
Whatever I try to do is fated to turn out wrong
and my heart lies buried like something dead.
How long can I let my mind moulder in this place?
Wherever I turn, wherever I look,
I see the black ruins of my life, here,
where I’ve spent so many years, wasted them, destroyed them totally.”

You won’t find a new country, won’t find another shore.

This city will always pursue you.
You’ll walk the same streets, grow old
in the same neighborhoods, turn gray in these same houses.
You’ll always end up in this city. Don’t hope for things elsewhere:
there’s no ship for you, there’s no road.
Now that you’ve wasted your life here, in this small corner,
you’ve destroyed it everywhere in the world.

C. P. Cavafy, "The City" from C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems. Translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Translation Copyright © 1975, 1992 by Edmund Keeley
and Philip Sherrard. Reproduced with permission of Princeton University Press
Source: C.P. Cavafy: Collected Poems (Princeton University Press, 1975)

If a city has anything to teach, it is that people need people to love and care for one another. We are all connected. That we rely upon one
another is the truth. If you ask someone to think of a city what comes to mind will likely be, long cloistered, grungy walkways, easily
identifiable landmark buildings, and the marching on by of city folk with empty faces. Landmarks resonate with a city’s identity since city
schemas are developed around these structures which can certainly create their own impression on those who visit.
This Special Edition is dedicated to the Cities, through the eyes of artists around the world, which expresses opportunities, conveniences,
and abstract lives in the city.
ADRIAN
FLAHERTY
Adrian Flaherty is a Londoner. He studied
Sculpture at UAL and completed his degree in
2016. Adrian has been exhibited in London,
Sheffield, and Venice, and in many online
exhibitions.
During His degree, Adrian worked across a
variety of media – mostly sculptures, paintings,
and functional work that began his interest in the
home. His home over the course became a living
sculpture. It expressed the introverted, self-
improvement idea of the debates at the time over
Brexit. However, since completing the degree he
has moved away from this to one where he has
also been addressing the need to make
connections and to work.
Adrian also studied Architecture, He has an
underlying interest in location discovering new
places that are related to a wider idea of where he
is from. The aim of the project walking the length Grosvenor Bridge - Oil Paint on Canvas, Size 61x91cm
of the Thames Path was an attempt to
make links to others and their homes through paintings of bridges. After completing up to the edge of London he has been doing
paintings of cliffs and beaches along the west coast of England symbolizing how the `Western’ world is constantly being
unpredictability affected by the forces around it, as can be also seen in the nature of the landscape changing with coastal erosion,
tides, winds, etc. Adrian is interested in using Chance in art over the last century and in Abstract Expressionism. He often uses a
mixture of oil and acrylic paint to create chaotic effects as the paint flows around the canvases in an unpredictable way which he
then tries to reason with, bringing it together with more detailed work.
What is your favourite medium and why?
I am a mixed media artist and use various
methods in achieving my paintings.
Materials-wise, I use a mixture of oils and
acrylic for initial effects then predominantly
oil paint due to its ability to cover aspects in
my editing phase. In most of my recent
paintings I couldn’t do without watercolour
pencils or acrylic pens to add details or
other aspects that need a finer touch or
more control. String to me is quite an
exciting material to use as a starting point -
marking out the basic forms in an
expressive but at the same time
uncontrolled way. This obviously links back
to Marcel Duchamp and his Three Standard
Stoppages work, and this has been central
to much of my use of Chance in previous
paintings and sculptures. It is this reason
and chance juxtaposition, that is important
to the processes and editing in most of my
paintings.
What is our biggest challenge in being
an artist? How do you address it?
Keeping ideas and methods fresh and ever-
evolving is sometimes a challenge. I
address this by constantly looking for
inspiration in new places. On my degree
course, which I finished in 2016, I did work
inspired by my white-walled new flat. I
made interventions, sculptures, and even
furniture. Since finishing the course and before returning home to work on my
filling my flat with artworks I started to administrative job which I am lucky enough
explore where I am from as a way of to be able to fit around my art practice.
making connections to people - the concept
for the Bridge series. So I find being
inspired quite easy. Whether it is by the
landscapes on my walks or more recently
the expressive aspects of drawing from life -
there is so much natural beauty in the world
to be inspired by. Recently I felt less
inspired by landscapes, so I started a life
drawing class to try something different.
Sometimes I go through old sketchbooks
for ideas, but often I might change tack
completely and make a sculpture or
London Bridge
functional piece.
Concrete, Oil and Acrylic Paint on Canvas,
I am always on the lookout for different Size 97x101cm
materials to incorporate into my paintings.
For example, in a painting I have just
finished I used balsa wood to make a
chunky frame for where a painting on a
piece of cardboard had warped with the
amount of paint that I used to make it.
When is your favourite time of day to
create?
As an early bird, I usually work in the
mornings when I feel more energetic and
clearer of thought. It’s also quieter in my Richmond Bridge
Oil and Acrylic Paint on Canvas
South London studio at that time. I find my
Size 51x84cm
flow and usually work through to lunch
Name the artist or artist you’d like to be
compared to, and why?
There are so many artists that have
influenced me, narrowing it down to one is
impossible. I see myself, like many artists,
as a bit of a sponge soaking up aspects of
a whole range of artists and ideas from a
vast range of sources. With my landscapes
I think that the most important for me is
Turner and his atmospheric paintings and
the fact he also found inspiration with the
River Thames has been interesting and
useful to my development. Before starting
the series of paintings of each bridge along
the River Thames I hadn’t done any
landscape paintings since leaving school,
but I felt it was important to me to explore
the city where I was born yet had never
explored, with transport often limiting my
knowledge of areas along the iconic river.
Stylistically, I admire effects achieved by
Abstract Expressionists. The method I have
developed is more similar to Helen
Frankenthaler and the way she used
thinned oil paint on horizontal canvases,
although I use these effects as a base layer
usually then bring the painting and the
original scene back into the painting as
much as possible.
How do you define success as an artist?
I find success as an artist doesn’t have to the expressive drawings. Normally I work
be all about money … as long as I can on a few pieces at the same time. The way
continue to create and my work is being I work is all about making interesting
shown in exhibitions and enjoyed by people, combinations of marks in paint and
I feel happy. I find this way of life very sometimes if I am not sure how best to
fulfilling and exciting! proceed with one painting, or while one is
Does art help you in other areas of your drying out (often quite a long time with the
life? way I work), I work on another until the
Art for me has been very helpful, mentally, solution becomes clear to me. Many of my
relieving the stress of living in the often paintings in storage I have returned to after
chaotic city of London. Also, the ability to having not seen for a while and often make
express myself creatively relieves the urge some quite drastic changes.
of making something - which has always
been important to me. The way I paint is
quite free and expressive, although I do
work on my painting's details until all the
aspects of the painting come together. This
contrasts quite severely with my work doing
office type work, where everything has to be
ordered. I enjoy both and find the structure
of this more normal working life
complements my art and vice versa.
What are you working on at the
moment?
After finishing the bridge series, I started on
another series of walks, this time along the
West Coast of England, taking photos of
Blackfriars Bridge
Cliffs and Beaches along the coastal paths.
Oil and Acrylic Paint on Canvas
Usually, I do rough sketches from these Size 90x90cm
then paint according to the marks on
What is the biggest challenge of being an How do you navigate the professional art
artist? industry?
I have relatively recently returned to art Since completing my degree, I took a while
being my primary interest when I began my to develop my own style and to find what I
degree in Sculpture in 2013 as a 36-year- wanted to be as an artist. I have been
old mature student. This obviously means mostly applying to open calls and a few
that ends have to meet somehow so finding exhibitors have found my work through this
work that allows me time to try and achieve sort of exposure. I have a shop online
the goal of being a professional artist very although I’ve been told that photos
important. Artistically thinking, keeping ideas sometimes do not do justice to the paintings
fresh and methods changing and developing I make. There are several other ways and
is very important. So, I read a lot in my platforms for artists such as myself to
spare time about other artists and ideas that develop my career that I’m considering, but
Cannon Street Railway Bridge
influence my work. I’m actually writing a having my work seen through opportunities Watercolor pencils, Oil and Acrylic Paint on Card,
book which aims to bring together all the like this one is great to help me progress as Size 45x78cm
ideas that have influenced my work … very an artist.
much a work in progress and a big
challenge, but in re-reading some books
and doing more researching I have definitely
found it useful in clarifying things about what
I am interested in and why I work in this
way.
What are your long-term goals?
My long-term goal is to continue to develop
as an artist; finding new ways to express
myself and the world around me. I am still
learning as an artist so to hone my skills and
to find new methods to express my beliefs
Wandsworth Bridge Lambeth Bridge
and knowledge. I would like to influence Oil and Acrylic Paint on Canvas Oil Paint on Canvas,
other artists and to have a wider public Size 61x91cm Size 45x78cm
seeing my work is usually a good aim for an
artist.
ALLAN
LINDER
Allan Linder is a prolific, award-winning artist with more than thirty years of experience producing a wide range of artwork using multiple
mediums and subject matter. His painting titled “Getting There” received critical acclaim when a news story about the accompanying NFT
went viral. Linder has ten exhibitions this year including the Bendheim Art Gallery in Greenwich, CT. He has launched many NFT crypto art
collections on Mint Gold Dust, Known Origin, and Foundation in addition to his traditional exhibitions. His 2007 art book titled 20th Century
and Beyond was re-launched this year.
Allan Linder Began exhibiting his work at the Installations one art gallery in Los Angeles during the 80s. After receiving success with a
series of paintings titled “Freedom”, an expose on the fall of the Berlin Wall, and an article in the LA Times, Linder continued to pursue his
art career in New York City, when he relocated in 2000. While living in NYC, Linder exhibited at the Artists’ Gallery in Chelsea, opening
many doors to international collectors. He has enjoyed exhibiting work alongside the American abstract expressionist Robert Goodnough
and many others. He has exhibited internationally in Brazil, Germany, France, Spain, and Italy. His work is held in private collections
throughout the U.S. and internationally. His work is in permanent collections of the Elmira Museum of Art, NY, and The Rochester
Contemporary Art Center, NY. After receiving several awards for his paintings during juried group exhibitions, Linder was interviewed by
JAV art and Al-Tiba9 International Art Magazine in Spain. His work will be exhibited in many group shows including the Swiss Art Fair in
Zürich and the CICA Art Museum in Seoul, South Korea later this year. Allan Linder fabricates paintings, drawings, digital artwork, mixed
media artworks, and sculptures using various materials and techniques. His recent work Cityscapes are a collection of hand-painted
artworks scanned at high resolution and digitally painted. The resulting artwork is a merger of traditional art with digital paint, printed as a
giclée on canvas. Then he adds additional acrylic layers again, giving depth and color to the original image. This systematic process of
enhanced prints was created by the artist over many years.

''My work is an exposition of a shared culture that explores a path through modern times and our past and how it affects the human condition. The
current state of the world is a mess, maybe it always has been. I just finished a series of paintings titled “Hues of Freedom,” which feeds the roots of
what makes this country free, the people who demand freedom, and the people that fight for freedom so that the next generation can benefit from their
hard work and sacrifices. Starting with non-traditional colors for these paintings I worked on the essence of what each of these moments in time was,
what these generations went through, and their message along with the conviction to their cause. By contesting the division between the realm
of modern and the realm of past experience, I approach a wide scale of subjects in a multi-layered way involving the viewer. My work doesn’t
always reference recognizable forms, and the results can be deconstructed to the extent that meaning is shifted and possible interpretation
becomes multifaceted. My focus on history is about exploring new ways of painting through modern technology.''
What does your work aim to say?
knowledge to my approach and my goal is of exhibitions around the world in different
The current state of the world is a mess.
to challenge myself out of my comfort zone. art galleries and museums. I am currently
Maybe it always has been. I just finished a
Some artists are content with using one or living and working in New York City.
series of paintings titled “Manifest No War”
two overall techniques to create their art. How do you stay connected and up to
which deals with the war in Ukraine. It is a
I am never satisfied with doing things in just date with the art world?
series of mixed media collage artwork using
one way. Over the years I have created I love the art community. More often than
woven fabric patterns passed down from the
artwork using a wide range of materials not, artists are kind people and try to help
Ukrainian people, national currency, and
including stone, leather, metal, fabric, each other when they need it. If you follow
news clippings along with cast plastic
plastic, paper, electronics, digital various visual artists on Instagram right
sculptures of average.
technology, and more. Most of these now, you’ll find that many artists are sharing
Being strong in the face of adversity is, to
processes were not taught to me but their techniques and creative processes
say the least challenging. Many of the
learned through trial and error. That is what with everyone. That is pretty amazing when
pieces evoke notions of freedom, solidarity,
makes things that is what makes things you think about the level of competition in
and resilience to help those affected by the
challenging. visual arts. There are tons of collaborations
war in Ukraine. This series of paintings are
Where are you from and how does that too, which actually makes a lot of sense.
on exhibition currently at Rochester
affect your work? Most art making of the past was quite a solo
Contemporary Art Center.
I was born in California, but I have lived in endeavor; it seems that there is a shift in the
One of the paintings is available as a free
about half of the states in the US. My father way people make art today.
NFT drop to raise funds that support the
was in the military so we traveled a lot when
Ukrainian people by providing food, medical
I was growing up. This nomadic lifestyle
help, and trauma support to victims of
really inspired my artistic career because of

Brunch Stroll
Digital paint,
Size 30.5x30.5cm
military aggression.
the constant change in culture and scenery
I have an upcoming series of artwork I just
every time we moved.
finished titled “Hues of Freedom” that deals
I come from a family of artists which was
with the American history of voting, civil
very encouraging for me. My journey is
rights, abortion, and the LGBTQ community.
long, I started painting at an early age, and
What is your biggest challenge in being
won my first award when I was fifteen years
an artist? How do you address it?
old. I have been working in traditional
Making art for me is a process that I use to
painting, sculpting, and digital art for thirty
build on my last creative experience. Each
years. I have since had hundreds
new piece I create adds another layer of
I honestly think that the art market is still
trying to catch up. On one hand, you have a
very old tradition of buying and selling art
through galleries and auction houses. That
still exists, but things are shifting with new
companies that allow collectors to buy an
incremental share of one piece of artwork
instead of the whole painting.
During the pandemic, NFT crypto art
changed the art market forever, creating a
renaissance for artists to sell their work
directly to anyone in the world willing to
buy. For me, this technology changed
everything. For years, I have gone through
traditional methods of gallery
representation, art dealers, art consultants,
etc… NFTs brought art into your home
anywhere in the world.
How do you know when a work is
finished?
Traditional painting has an immediate
tactile response to it. I can pick up a large
canvas and throw paint at it if I want to. You
can’t do that with digital art on an iPad or
screen. Yes, I know that with immersive VR
technology you can actually throw paint on
a virtual canvas. But, I think you get my
meaning. Now, I enjoy both of these
creative processes and they both have a
place and time in my art studio.
In the 90s I did a lot of freelance work for
different animation studios such as Disney,
and Warner Bros. Sometimes I was I have developed a method that I can
creating storyboards, and other times I was stabilize animated layers, and then flatten
designing characters for animated TV everything to 8k resolution, I then print it out
shows, and films. Most of that work was on a canvas as a giclée print and then begin
traditional, not digital. All of it was a great again. The entire process takes weeks
learning experience for me to understand sometimes, but the end result is stunning
new techniques and styles that can be with hundreds of layers of both digital and
applied to my work today. real paint added to the final piece. My
During that time, I began working on a interests in traditional and digital art
Commodore computer, Windows 95 PC, continue to grow with new materials, digital
and an early Mac Plus computer. I explored painting tools, animation, artificial
software such as Lightwave 3D, Bryce, intelligence, and the NFT renaissance.
Poser, Photoshop, and many others. My Maybe art never really is finished.
early options for combing the two processes
were, first, making digital art, then printing it
out on paper, and then drawing on top of it,
or using it as a jumping-off point for different
compositions.
Today digital technology has become
incredible. Now, I begin with a traditional
painting of my own design, I scan the
artwork using a high-resolution flatbed
scanner. Now I use my original work as a
jumping-off point for new creations that
include adding multiple layers of digital
fractal work, motion animation, and more.
After I have played with a painting long
enough, I might have one hundred or more
layers of digital artwork on top of a
Weekend Ambition
traditional painting. It is a very unique Digital paint,
process. Size 30.5x30.5cm
Do you have any exhibitions coming up?
It’s been a big year for me, my painting
titled “Getting There” received critical
acclaim when a news story about the
accompanying NFT went viral. I have ten
exhibitions this year including Bendheim Art
Gallery in Greenwich, CT. I’ve launched
many NFT crypto art collections on Mint
Gold Dust, Known Origin, and Foundation in
addition to my traditional art exhibitions. My
sold-out art book titled 20th Century and
Beyond was re-launched this year.After
receiving several awards for my paintings
during juried group exhibitions, I have had
multiple interviews, including this one. I am
now entering phase four of my exhibition
year with three final shows coming up. The
first one is at the Lockwood-Mathews
museum in Connecticut, USA the Second
one is at the CICA Museum in Seoul, South
Korea, and the last one is in Palma, Spain.
The exhibition titled “Hues of Freedom” at
the Lockwood-Matthews Mansion Museum
in Norwalk, CT is one that I am particularly
interested in because I have been preparing
for this show for six months.
How do you usually prepare for an
upcoming exhibition?
The answer is that it comes down to how
much time I have. Typically for a gallery
show, I will have ample time to prepare for
an exhibit. I start by stretching my own
canvases, prepping each piece
meticulously, executing the work, adding
hardware, then finishing it with photography
for my portfolio and prints, and then I add
plenty of varnish. Finally, I pack everything
up to ship or transport to a show. This year
is a little different, besides the individual
painting prep for the artwork, I also need to
buy a tuxedo because there is an opening
gala event and an artist
reception for one of my shows. It’s definitely
a different experience when you have to
attend a formal gala event.
Sunday Balance
Digital paint, size 30.5x30.5cm
What is the hardest part of creating for
you?
I think it’s fitting it into a creative category.
Years ago, I started making art with
materials that were available, and familiar to
me. I used pencil, pen, ink, paint, ceramic
clay, and wood and I didn’t deviate too
much from that until my first art gallery
show. From that point on everything
changed. That show was a pivotal
experience that introduced me to a wide
range of materials, colors, subject matters,
and more.
Escape
Digital paint,
Size 30.5x30.5cm
What do you like/dislike about the art
world?
I embrace every part of the artistic process
good and bad. I have done several online
exhibitions this year with positive results,
but there are some online galleries that
seem to take advantage of artists.
Unfortunately, with art and ever-changing
technology, online exhibitions can go either
way. The main thing is to do the upfront
research to determine if it’s worthwhile to
spend my time doing the online thing. If I
find a reputable gallery that has good
feedback, it might be a great opportunity to
showcase my work.
I exhibited some of my new digital portraits
from the series titled “Eternal Energy” at the
these new tools to their repertoire to create
something new, and everyone loves to see
something new. As for online galleries, they
too are here to stay.
Name the artist or artists you’d like to be
compared to, and why?
Many artists work with one or two mediums
most of their careers, so fitting into a
category makes sense. I don’t really know
who I would be compared to, because my
work really takes on a life of its own. I use
so many different techniques in my art that
it makes it difficult to fit into a category. My
work is inspired by many artists both living
and not.
Momentum
Digital paint, size 30.5x30.5cm

Swiss Art Expo in Zürich this year. It was

very exciting to see the positive reaction to
the work. I think every artist should make
the time to do art fairs at least once
because they can be beneficial to an artist’s
career. The whole thing is experience and
getting your feet wet as they say. You don’t
know until you try it. Art fairs are hard and
not really my specialty but they can be a fun
experience to interact with people that
appreciate what you make.
Digital art is here to stay. As new
technological processes are created, artists
that embrace them early, are adding
Digital paint, size 30.5x30.5cm
One of my personal favorites is Jean-Michel
Basquiat’s work which opened a door for
me to think about poetry, drawing, and
painting, mixed with text and image,
abstraction, symbolism, and historical ideas
blended with a modern eye. He used social
criticism in his paintings as a device for self-
reflection, and for addressing his
experiences in the Black community, as well
as a weapon against injustice and systems
of racism. His visual poetics
were keenly political and aggressive
Picnic Bliss in their judgment of imperialism and
the foundation for class struggle.
AMY
JACKSON
Amy Jackson is an artist based in East London. Jackson studied Fine Art at the Ruskin, University of Oxford, 2005 - 2008 achieving a
scholarship and a 1st class degree. She later returned to The Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment to read Sustainable
Finance. She is a conceptual artist and climate activist who blends philosophy, nature, and science to create meticulous immersive
experiences in traditional galleries and unconventional spaces. Her work includes street art, happenings, photography, painting, and found
objects. Jackson explores issues such as climate change, consumerism, mental health, social inequalities, and critically, how these
themes are inextricably linked. Her work often exists outside of the ‘white cube’ and inside the communities it touches. Experience spans
art commissions for Kensington + Chelsea Art Week to public speaking, podcasts, and publications on climate change. Her work has been
featured in the Times, Art World Magazine, Modern Art Oxford, Time Out and has even found its way to The Tate.

Recognizing tragedies of the human condition in the Hypercaptialist era, Jackson raises critical environmental and socioeconomic issues
through art, activism, and her work in sustainable finance. Tackling issues such as climate change, consumerism, and socioeconomics.
Blending philosophy, nature, and science, Jackson is passionate about inspiring change through her fine art practice and finance career as
a responsible investment specialist and climate activist. Her work takes solace in minimalism, treading lightly and consciously on the
planet. Examples include, ‘Little Voices’ where she funded artists from marginalized backgrounds working with environmental and
socioeconomic inequality, or ‘The Alternative Art Trail’ where viewers were welcomed on a curated tour through natural serendipities in
London. ‘Cleaning Squares’ for example, is a series of happenings taking place from 2005 to the present. Daily dice are rolled to determine
time and location and perfect squares, and the length of the artist's feet are cleaned and labeled. This darkly humorous performance piece
comments upon mental health and the state of the planet. ​“17 years since Jackson cleaned her first square atop a portaloo, the work
became bizarrely prophetic as we stood shaken amidst cascading global crises.” In the depths of every psyche lurks immutable fears.
These uncertainties manifest themselves in irrational behaviors. Often, through attempts to control these fears, control is lost. In 2022,
Jackson began to reconsider this piece in the world we find ourselves in. A genderless embodiment, No. 45969, remains covered and
speechless in this ongoing performance and ephemeral street art piece. Polishing pavements and scaling urine-soaked alleyways,
relentlessly cleanse pollution away. Highlighting our lack of control and
life’s absurdities - the mundane becomes peculiar. Whilst the planet crumbles and greed arrives by next-day delivery, the
artist questions: “do we really need more stuff in the world?”
Cleaning Squares

Giclee paper | Hahnemuhle | Photorag | 297 x 420 mm |

Photography of Street Art Piece “17 years since Jackson cleaned
her first square atop a portaloo, the work became bizarrely
prophetic as we stood shaken amidst cascading global crises.”
From 2005 - 2008, 1,000 squares were cleaned worldwide. Dice
were rolled to determine the location and the perfect squares
were labeled. In the depths of every psyche lurks immutable
fears. These uncertainties manifest themselves in irrational
behaviors. Often, through attempts to control these fears, control
is lost. In 2022, Jackson began to reconsider this piece in the
world we find ourselves in. A genderless embodiment, No. 45969,
remains covered and speechless in this ongoing performance
and ephemeral street art piece. Polishing pavements and scaling
urine-soaked alleyways, relentlessly cleanse pollution away.
Highlighting our lack of control and life’s absurdities - the
mundane becomes peculiar. Whilst the planet crumbles and
greed arrives by next-day delivery, the artist questions: “do we
really need more stuff in the world?”

MEDIUM: Performance (photographic documentation of street

art)
YEAR: 2022
SIZE: 297 x 420 mm
Tell us about your favorite medium.
I describe my work as conceptual owing to
the fact that the idea is more important than
the medium. I have worked in painting,
cutting, cleaning, drawing, welding,
newspaper bricks, found objects, stitching,
textiles, pastels, glitter, paper, digital
animation, video, photography, string,
performance, weeds, and even
nothingness.
I couldn’t suggest that any of these
mediums are my favorite because the best
art is not about mastering a craft in my
opinion, it’s about leaving the viewer with an
experience. Sometimes saying nothing or
removing something can be more powerful
than bringing something new into the world.
Where are you from and how does that
affect your work?
I was born in West Yorkshire to a Jewish
father from Leeds and a Christian mother
from Doncaster. Growing up in the North,
I’m proud to say that I’m Northern but I don’t
think that influences my work very much.
Probably what does affect my practice is
more to do with the fact that my father is
actually the world’s worst recorded case of
hoarding and suffers from pretty severe
mental health issues. Growing up in that
environment certainly inspired a lot of my
art. Equally, as you can imagine his
situation has left him in a pretty poor
position financially. It isn’t easy to make
work when you and your family are in a
financially vulnerable situation. Equally, it
can inspire you to think differently.
I make a lot of pieces with found objects
(this can be quite easy when you’re
childhood home is full to the brim with junk),
I create a lot of pieces from nothing but
‘cleaning’, I curate natural serendipities, I
use digital platforms and even performance
art to convey my messaging.
Interestingly, I later married a Muslim from
Gaza Strip, Palestine. Uncertainty, lack of
comfortability, and the gentle clashing and
blending of cultures inform my later
practice. So where I am from, where I
began and where I have ended up have
undoubtedly influenced my work.
Why did you choose to be an artist?
I am not sure if many people choose to be
artists or whether one is just ‘born an artist.
Since being incredibly young I had a natural
propensity to ‘create’ which later became a
compulsion to make. My mind responds to
feelings, themes, and ideas visually and
conceptually. If I want to express
something, it naturally manifests itself as an
art action.
Sometimes I wish I was a writer instead, as
my overhead would be lower. In all
seriousness, I stopped making work after I
finished my degree because I was
persuaded by my partner (at the time) that I
should focus on something more
commercial. Having found this to be the
biggest mistake of my life and growing
increasingly regretful, I decided to do
something about it and throw myself into my
art practice again. Then ten years later, I
felt flooded with ideas and visually
famished. The rest is history.
What inspires you?
Working in climate activism and responsible
investment professionally I am inspired by
the world around me. Understanding the
gravity of injustice, the weight of inequality,
and how truly broken the system is. I seek
to reveal truths and change the course of
history.
Things that make me angry tend to be the
biggest sources of inspiration for my work.
Also, if something amuses me (like seeing
13-year-olds dance in a supermarket aisle
for a TikTok video, unencumbered by any
sense of shame), I sometimes steal aspects
to parody in my work.
The sheer insanity of the world we’re
living in seems to give me
plenty of material to work with.
What does your work aim to say?
My work deals with climate change, mental
health, socioeconomic inequality, and how
these themes are inextricably linked. It often
sits outside of the ‘white cube’ and inside
the communities it touches. I want my art to
reveal the unseen and ask some of the
world’s most difficult questions.
I use dark humor and unconventional
mediums which ask the viewer to stop and
think. In this eerie elitist abyss where we
barter ‘likes’ and ‘shares’ and place
inordinate value on the unimportant, we
have forgotten our humanity and have
helped to empower the most unscrupulous
of machines along the way.
My work aims to question whether we need
more ‘stuff’ in the world and whether a
better, more equitable planet could become
a reality. It alters, manipulates, and shifts
the status quo in order to reimagine new
ways of living. My art believes a better place
is possible.
What is our biggest challenge in being
an artist? How do you address it?
I am sorry to answer this question in such a
boring way but I honestly believe our
biggest challenge in being an artist is cash
flow! Making work that is new and relevant
requires time, thought, patience and a lot of
trial and error. Trial and error cost money,
putting on shows costs money,
exhibiting, fabricating work, taking time from
paid employment to focus on practice, and
yet artists never know if a piece will sell.
Furthermore, as a conceptual artist, my
work is famously hard to buy. It may be an
ephemeral street art piece, a ‘happening’, or
a performance. Yet I don’t want to
compromise the quality of the work in order
to make more money. Luckily, I specialize in
responsible investment and climate change
mitigation in the investment industry. This
not only allows me to learn more about the
themes my art tackles, but it also funds my
practice so I don’t have to sacrifice quality to
make something more ‘saleable’.
Other artists whom I work with do all kinds
of jobs to fund their work including life
modeling, steel making, copywriting, library
administration, and teaching. It’s just not
easy balancing financial survival and finding
adequate time to create great work without
compromising on quality.
What do you like/dislike about the art
world?
I like art’s endless possibility to reinvent and
reimagine itself, asking new questions,
changing the rules of the game, and making
the invisible, visible. Good art is like
watching a film and experiencing that
‘moment of revelation’ when suddenly the
plot twist is revealed and you find yourself
simultaneously shocked and impressed.
Dislikes? Where do I start? Nepotism is rife
and despite progress being made, I do
think it’s a very difficult place for women,
working mothers, and those from
challenging socioeconomic backgrounds.
Perhaps it’s the fact that it's so easy for
privileged and stale artists to thrive that so
much successful art is frankly nothing
more than boring decoration which
wouldn’t look out of place in IKEA.
The best artists understand the struggles
of society because they live it, the most
creative ideas come from those who have
to work within complex and challenging
boundaries. Yet because art is expensive
to make and most people can’t afford to
work tirelessly on their practice in London,
initially for free, those with wealthy
connections seem to get on the ladder
more easily and sell more reliably for more
money as well. It’s a pretty vicious cycle.
Ironic that an industry that celebrates ‘The
Shock of The New’ is ever so good at
structuring itself in the most old-school way
imaginable.
Name the artist or artists you’d like to be
compared to, and why?
To be completely honest, I’d rather not be
compared to other artists as I like to think
my work is truly original! Though given I
describe myself as conceptual, social justice
oriented, and a bit activist the names
Nauman, Bruguera and Guerilla Girls spring
to mind!
What is the hardest part of creating for
you?
For me, the hardest part of creating is
finding the time to create in the first place.
Artists nowadays are expected to be
professional social media marketers,
accountants, and website developers. It is
simply not possible to create high-quality
art, whilst working to earn money to fund the
art, raising children, managing relationships,
and being every staff member at once in
your art studio.
Failing that major criticism and complaint
about the perils of being an artist, I’d also
say that sometimes creating is knowing
when to stop! It’s easy to be a perfectionist,
and let perfect be the enemy of progress.
Learning when to stop in order to generate a
maximal return is important when you
believe that we only have limited time to
make an impact.
What is the role of an artist in society?
I believe that artists should rise against
societal ills, call out the b*******t and aim to
make the world a better place. Failing that
artists are masters at making the invisible
visible, they question what we see, how we
see, and what isn’t being seen, artists are
also experts at breaking the rules. Given
this creative and deviant skill set, I believe
artists have the power to change things for
the better, inspire change, or simply enable
those from other industries and walks of life
to learn the art of questioning what is not
immediately obvious.
Who are your biggest artistic influences?
I think that this changes over time, when I
was young my work was conceptual and
minimalist, dealing with topics concerning
mental health. As a result, I drew inspiration
from On Kawara and Ilya Kabakov.
Now, I explore themes relating to climate
change and socioeconomic inequality and
believe my work is influenced by Activist
Artists and socially engaged practices such
as the likes of Tania Bruguera, the Guerilla
Girls, and Assemble.
However, terrible art motivates me too. As
we increasingly find our Earth a hostile
environment, I have become gradually more
disturbed by art which I consider lack ethics.
As we hold commodities and
industry up to higher levels of scrutiny, I
believe art should be no different.
The grotesque disregard for animal rights in
Damien Hirst’s work and the flagrant
disrespect for human beings by Santiago
Sierra inspires me as much as the work that
I actually like. They inspire me to tread
lightly, respect my subject, and consider
how artists should do things differently.
Do you have any exhibitions coming up?
Yes, I do! I will be curating a show for artists
working with Social Justice at Aqua Art
Miami with SHIM Art Network. The
exhibition runs from 30th November - 4th
December.
In April 2023, I have an exciting activist art
piece, hopefully taking place in The Turbine
Hall at The Tate Modern, London, UK.
Finally in May 2023, to correspond with
Country Overshoot Day in the UK, I have a
climate change risk exhibition, where
viewers will become the medium of the
work.
If any of these sound interesting, please
follow my Instagram account or check out
the events section of my website at
thisisamyjackson.com to hear
about upcoming exhibitions first and
secure your spot.
BECKY
MORIARTY
Becky Moriarty is Irish-made but based in London. Illustrator and Graphic Designer who is a fan of a challenging brief,
collaborating with others, and any chance to put pencil to paper. Print and digitally skilled, with 8 years of experience
freelancing and working in-house, within the design industry. Inquisitive and enthusiastic individual with a passion for image
making, branding, and layout design. When not drawing, she can be found drinking coffee in London Fields, doing yoga, or
chasing the night around Hackney.
’I’m an outsider who moved to Hackney and made it their home. My work focuses on connections between memory and place
in this London borough. Investigating the question: is it the imprint of recollection on a physical space that cements its identity
and what happens when we take the life out of it? Can one place house many different layers of personality?
Due to the pandemic, I have spent the last 2 years wandering the streets, noticing the same faces. I wanted to understand this
place by collecting traces of the people living here now and before. Embodying a true flaneur, I started using my daily walks to
‘drift’ through the landscape collecting photos, rubbings, video recordings, and drawings. I explored parts of the area I had
never been to before and came across a selection of hidden gems, off the beaten track but popular with the locals.’’

Angie Birtill - LIWC, Hoxton Market Shoppers Hoxton Market Seller

Drawing, Size A4, 2021 Pencil, paper, Size A4, 2021 Screen print,Size A4, 2021
Where are you from and how does that
affect your work?
Originally from Ireland, I’m an outsider who
moved to Hackney and made it their home.
My work focuses on connections between
memory and place in this London borough.
Investigating the question: is it the imprint of
recollection on a physical space that
cements its identity and what happens when
we take the life out of it? Can one place
house many different layers of personality?
Tell me about your favorite medium.
I mainly work in analogue. I combine pencil
and ink drawings with collaged imagery and
rubbings to give my work a layered
presence. A sense of merging different
times. I assemble all finished elements
digitally to play around with final outcomes
and blur the lines between what is visible. I
like to use a lot of different research
methods when investigating themes and
have recently been experimenting with film
to pull together my findings into a sort of
narrative moldboard.
Where do you find inspiration?
I have an interest in investigating the
intangible. Capturing traces of memory and
grasping onto places that could disappear.
An everyday moment can be so precious to
one person but at the same time, forgettable
to someone else. What makes
it so? Do spaces and objects also hold on
to memories? I am influenced by the work
of Leanne Shapton and Sophie Calle. Their
approach to blurring the lines between the
public versus private is very inspiring for
me. What can we notice if we look a little
closer?
When is your favorite time of day to
create?
Usually, the evening when everything has
gone quiet. Emails have stopped coming in
and the traffic outside my window has
subdued ever so slightly. I love to put a
podcast on and focus on drawing.
The Kingsland pub
The Auld Shilleagh Collage & digital print, Size A4, 2021
Collage & digital print, Size A3, 2021
Describe how art is important to society.
An illustration is an important tool for
capturing political and social change. It
offers us a visual representation of different
societies from moments in time while being
used as a universally, understood platform
for communities to tell their stories.
What motivates you to create? What's the purpose or goal of your work?
Interesting research is usual what sparks To tell stories. Work with people and communities who have something to share and help
ideas for me. I look to other artists and them to visualize this. Find the narrative within my research and findings and create a
creatives who work with similar themes. beginning, middle, and end.
And when in doubt, always start with What are your long-term goals?
observational drawing and the ideas will My initial future plans are to start prepping for the production and packaging side of selling
come. my prints on my new website, as well as coming up with new commercial ideas to sell at
How do you define success as an artist? markets and fairs. My dream for next year is to secure an artist residency. Hopefully, over
Making work that I am proud of while not the next couple of years, I will work towards formatting an idea for a practice lead Ph.D.,
worrying about what others think of it or most likely focusing on preserving memory and engaging with the oral histories of a
counting likes on social media. Being able community.
to create every day and worry less about
the final product and instead enjoy the
process.
Charity Shop finds Hand Car Wash,
Does art help you in other areas of your Ink drawing, Size A4, 2021 Collage & digital print, Size A4, 2021
life?
Yes definitely. When I am stressed and I
need to quieten my mind from overthinking,
drawing is a great way to do this. It really
helps with the stresses of day-to-day.
How do you develop your art skills?
Regular life drawing classes are really
important to keeping your drawings loose
and your eyes sharp. Visiting fairs and
exhibitions are great for inspiration and
meeting other creatives. Observational
drawing while out and about is something I
want to do more of.
ELA
VULTUR
Ela Vultur is a new modern mixed media artist. She works with different art movements inspired by architectural illustrations and surrealist,
collage, and urban environments. She has a unique style and her designs are made to question how we perceive the world around us in
the most creative ways. With a background in architecture and a love for drawing, architecture, wellbeing, and the unusual, the core belief
of Ela Vultur is that art should make the client feel unique and inspired. Thus, she creates her artworks to brighten up every space and give
a positive and inspiring feeling when looked upon.

Dancing buildings - Watercolor, pen & ink on paper, Size 21x29.7cm LONDON
Watercolor, pen & ink on paper,
Size 29.7x21cm
 The city from above Wasteland of lost souls
Watercolor, pen & ink on paper, Size 29.7x21cm Watercolor, pen & ink on paper, Size 29.7x21cm
Who are you?
Ela Vultur is a new modern mixed media
artist. She works with different art
movements inspired by architectural
illustrations and surrealist, collage, and
urban environments. Exploring ordinary
themes, and objects in extraordinary
situations have always captivated me. I
tried exploring different art movements from
collage to figurative art to surrealism and
even architectural art.
In my artistic practice, I have been thinking
a lot about the connection between a 2D
image on the wall - a painting, the colors I
use, and mental health. How an atypical
composition, using
contrasting/complementary colors, the
theme, and subject of a painting can
change the mood of a room, or of the
person that is looking upon it. I like to center
my work around the idea that creativity can
act as a coping mechanism to the stresses
of everyday life, promoting a sense of well-
being. I am very interested in exploring this
as that’s how I discovered art and started
painting.
Where are you from and how does that
affect your work?
I was born and raised in Romania, in a quite
strict family. This definitely influenced my
artistic style as growing up I didn’t have a
lot of freedom to express myself the way
I wanted. But art allows me to do this.
What is your background?
I have a background in architecture and
from there the love drawing buildings or
very intricate things.
Why did you choose to be an artist?
For the freedom, I felt while painting. Also
back in 2020, I started using painting as a
therapy for anxiety and panic attacks. Since
then I started producing artwork as a way to
document, through art, the recovery journey
from depression and anxiety. Through
painting, I discovered freedom, a second
chance, and a way to express myself (not
just in painting but in real life as well).
What inspires you?
My love for architecture, the unusual,
nature, and my own feelings are my main
inspiration.
Where do you find inspiration?
Usually, after a panic attack, my mind is
filled with different thoughts, emotions
When is your favorite time of day to
create?
It depends really, but I find myself really
inspired early morning or late at night.
Describe how art is important to society.
Art helps us understand the world through
different lenses and in this way adds a plus
of positivity, excitement, and adrenaline to
it.
How do you balance your time in the
studio with other commitments such as
a part-time job, family, or admin?
I think all play an important role in a whole
(which is life), and for me particularly,
without a good balance, I wouldn’t be able
to do any. At the moment I work in a coffee
shop, as well as self-study.
What are you working on at the
moment?
At the moment I am working on a new
series illustrating ‘bleeding’ flowers (purity,
innocence, naivety) surrounded by very
sharp objects (steel beams, buildings)
(illustrating coldness, and selfishness).
Series inspired by my feelings of range,
betrayal, hurt, and pain toward a very close
friend who recently shocked me with his
behavior.
What is the biggest challenge of being
an artist?
Getting recognition or transforming it into a
full-time profession.
 The Architecture of afterlife (Un)wind things
Watercolor, pen & ink on paper, Size 29.7x21cm Watercolor, pen & ink on paper, Size 29.7x21cm
ERIKA ZANELLI
Erika Zanelli is an artist, based in Bologna, Italy. Her artistic career began with music as a live performer and DJ around Europe. She
always needed to express herself through the creative process and playing music wasn't enough to deeply explore the reality that
surrounded her. Erika began to approach to photography by accident with an old polaroid camera of her parents. She shooted details that
captured her attention and shortly her passion for photography allowed her to investigate herself, and her everyday life giving a new sense
to her connection with the world.

''In the beginning, I spent many days in the streets capturing fleeting moments of the life of unknown people. I'm a very curious person
and I'm looking forward to new challenges to overstep my limits and to experiment with new forms of expression. I'm currently working on
abstract photography combined with painting. The central themes of my works are reflections on feelings, the relationship between our
lifestyle and time, and new photographic ways to represent reality (abstract photography). I try the inspiration from everyday life, observing
people while I'm sitting on a bench in my favorite park, camouflaging myself for self-portraits, and studying abstract painters such as
Kandinski, Mondrian, and Pollock. My artistic journey is continuously changing and for me is the only way to become aware of myself. ''
Where are you from and how does that
affect your work?
I’m from Italy (Bologna) and I’m a self-
taught photographer.
My work has always been influenced by
every image that caught my attention on the
street or
during my travels but now it is more
oriented towards experimentation with
abstract photography.
From your point of view, what makes a
good picture?
I think a picture should convey an emotion,
tell a story or send a message. A good
picture must be able to express the
intention of the photographer.
Since photography techniques and
equipment change quickly, it is
important to stay up-to-date. What do
you do to always keep up with the
times?
I do nothing to keep up with the times. It’s
actually a source of stress for me.
Nowadays almost everyone has access
to devices with which it is possible to
take pictures. What do you think is the
difference between a professional
photographer and any other hobby
photographer?
I believe that having access to devices has
allowed many people to be able to express
themselves through photography. I am a
self-taught photographer. sometimes getting
out of the theoretical framework of the
professional could be an added value if you
have something to say through an image.
Who influenced you the most? Is there
any other photographer that you
consider a kind of idol?
I love Vivian Maier, Annegret Soltau, Armen
Susan Ordjanian.
What details do you believe make the
best photographs? How do you go about
focusing on them in your work?
A good composition, the right light, and
knowing how to capture the right moment
for the shot, because that image is an
irreversible moment that could be lost.
How do you approach storytelling as a
photographer?
There is no real storytelling behind my
photographs. I often start with ideas that I
have in mind and that I immediately realize,
other times I capture images while I am on
the street that seems there on purpose to
be photographed.
What do you like photographing most?
My photography ranges from self-portraits
to street photography, and abstract
photography.
What inspires you as a photographer?
I am a very curious person constantly
looking for new ways to express myself. For
a long time, it was the people I met who
inspired my photographs. Now what I
photograph starts from very specific ideas
that I want to achieve through photography.
What is the biggest challenge of being a
photographer?
Always find new ways to express my artistic
needs.
What, in your opinion is more important:
the shooting itself or post-production
and editing?
I think the shot itself must already be
perfect.
I use post-production in experimenting with
new photographic techniques that mix
photography, painting, and design.
Queen Victoria Building - Sydney - Photograph, 28x21cm, 2020
HARMSWORTH
IRENE
''In the City has is has its familiar places where we go to meet up with friends and those we love. Often the familiarity of these places is where
we buy our latest fashion piece in clothing and items that make us feel good. What we wear becomes part of expressing who we are because
fashion is a way to express ourselves, and our identity. One of the main reasons why people spend long hours searching for the right outfit is
to avoid criticism. Basically, people don’t want to be judged by others on how bad they look. I have included a number of paintings, drawings,
digital designs that reflect life in various cities in Australia and fashion beyond the city in nature and the environment.''

Irene started her artistic practice once she left Melbourne and moved to Sydney in the mid 1980’s, after gaining formal art education in
Fine Arts. Irene operated an art studio in Menzies Arcade near Pitt Street Sydney where she sketched and painted for art collectors –
mainly portraits. In the early to mid-2000’s did Graphic design and illustration for the Dept. Mining NSW and then later for the Dept. of
Defence at HMAS Albatross in Nowra NSW graphic design and painting artwork/murals that were commissioned by the Squadron leaders.
After that Irene moved back to Victoria and was selected for various painting exhibitions and competitions. Her current art practice style
and subject matter are watercolour portraits and various digital designs that are in recent body of work oil paintings and mixed media
artwork that have been inspired by the wildlife and native plants where she lives in Narooma.

Who's looking at you?

digital design, 21x38cm, 2020
Where are you from and how does that
affect your work?
The surrounding areas of beautiful sea
coastline are a constant source of
inspiration in what I create. Where I live in
Regional NSW is one of the elements that
affects my artwork, it influences some of my
decisions in what I choose to paint. Living
by the ocean has many shapes, colours,
atmosphere/moods whether a rocky shore
line or somewhere down near a boat shed.
The native bird life that surround this area
are also a part of this seascape/landscape,
and become part of the work I create this all
depends on where I explore.
Why did you choose to be an artist?
I chose to be an artist once I left Art College
and started my own art studio business in
the City of Sydney. Drawing people from
life, paintings and other artwork were part of
my art practice. It was challenging at first
relying on my artistic skills and learning to
operate a business as I went along this
path. As an independent artist it has been
very rewarding and self-fulfilling occupation
even though there have been many
obstacles along the way.
What inspires you?
Where I live inspires me surrounded by
nature and time to reflect and plan my next
adventure. I often travel to different parts of
the regional areas and towns, and in the
various towns I am inspired to observe the
different structures and architecture of
these buildings and there is often history
behind each door. Some of the towns that I
travel through inspire me to take photos
and to draw sketches; I enjoy talking to the
local people of these areas as they have
many stories to tell.
What does your work aim to say?
My aims vary depending on whatever I am
working on at the time. If I am painting or
drawing a portrait I will try to get a good
likeness of that person. If I am painting or
sketching from nature I will interpret the
landscape and aim to show the character
and mood. If I am exhibiting a “body of
work” that represents a theme, then I aim to
reflect that theme in what I paint, so that the
viewer understands the meaning of my
artwork.
What is our biggest challenge in being
an artist? How do you address it?
One of the biggest challenges in being an
artist is to survive; pay bills earn enough
money to support your art practice. I have
been fortunate in that I not only painted and
sketched in my art practice but also diverted
my art skills to designing and worked as a
Graphic Designer for many years. By being
practical and adapting to other areas in arts
helped to expand my knowledge of creating
a more diverse range of art pieces.
Escalator ride - Sydney
Photograph, 28x20cm, 2020
Where do you find inspiration?
Inspiration can be from many sources such
as nature and the place where I live.
Achieving new techniques I have never tried
before and exploring different art materials
is inspirational to develop a better piece of
artwork. Taking the time to visit galleries
and museums to view other artists work and
appreciate what went into producing their
artwork is inspiration.
When is your favourite time of day to
create?
I like to create or finish a piece of artwork
earlier in the Morning; this gives me the rest
of the day for exploring or other activities.
Having a time set aside to create is a form
of discipline and this produces a better
outcome – rather than whenever I feel
motivated to create. The regular time of the
day is a fulfilling path to take and produces
a better understanding of mastering a new
technique.
How do you develop your art skills?
I find that designing and thinking through a
piece of artwork is more productive. This
may involve exploring new types of
equipment to develop an art piece. I like to
develop my art skills by improving various
new techniques and constantly updating the
materials I use to produce a better result.

Meeting place - Sydney

Gilcee Cotton Rag Print, 50x40cm, 2020
Describe how art is important to society.
Art to me has different meanings; it could be in the
sound of music, sculpture and various forms of fine art.
Art becomes an important part of life and a platform
where people can express their feelings especially in
times of crisis. Throughout history artists have often
documented the upheavals and horrors of war – such
as Goya late 18th century, Pablo Picasso and others.
Today’s writers , photographers and artists are a
witness to the war in the Ukraine, and other major
events such as the effect of climate change on different
locations throughout the world, their artistic connection
to these events is important to the rest of society.
What motivates you to create?
I enjoy solving technical problems with my art projects,
understanding the way paint works in different mediums
and achieving a positive outcome motivates me to
produce similar pieces in this style. Painting or drawing
artwork that has a connection with people is not only is
a financial gain it also is motivating and an
acknowledgement to my artwork that I create.
How do you define success as an artist?
As an artist my achievements and success in art has
varied through perseverance in working from my
creative abilities in many art practices over the years.
The success of running my own art studio business,
group and solo art exhibitions have been financially
productive. Not all avenues have resulted in success
but the understanding from rejection helped me to take
other paths of self-promotion in developing better
communication skills.

Shoes for Sale

Photograph, 28x21cm, 2019
 JANE
WALKER
Jane Walker studied at the Royal Academy Schools 1987-90. She received an Aeneas Travelling Award from the Royal Academy
Schools(1990), a Lucy Morrison Memorial Award (1993) and a portrait commission to paint Sir Lawrence Byford from the Royal Overseas
League. She was artist in residence on the cross channel ferries between Newhaven and Dieppe (1992) and was a prizewinner in the
John Moores 19, Liverpool (1995). She participated in the Paul Ricard 5th International Painting Symposium, Ile de Bendor, France (2014).
Her solo exhibitions include; City Lines, Fronteer Gallery, Sheffield (2021), a review of the exhibition written by Sean Williams was
published on a-n reviews, Lines, 20:21 Visual Arts centre Scunthorpe (2018), In Turners Footsteps, Nuneaton Museum & Art Gallery
(2011), Short Frieze, Atkinson Gallery, Southport (2007), Blocspace, Sheffield (2004), Group exhibitions; 9th International Biennial of
Drawing, Pilsen, Czech Republic (2014), Essential Elements, St.Brides Gallery, Liverpool Biennial Independents (2014), Portraits, New
Greenham Arts Centre (2014), Lost, an artistic archaeology of the recent past , Salisbury Art Centre (2014) Modessqe 1st painting
competition, Skwer, Warsaw (2013) , Cities: All Dimensions, Tokarska Gallery, London (2013), Ruth Borchard self portrait exhibition, Kings
Place, London (2013), Nuances Parisiennes, Musee de Beaux Arts de Saint Petersburg, Russia (2013), In der Zwischenzeit, Begehungen
no 9, Chemnitz, Germany (2012), 'Paint', Beldam Gallery, Uxbridge University(2010). Open and prize exhibitions include; Derbyshire Open
2022, Buxton Museum and Art Gallery, This Years Model, Studio 1.1, London (2021), Hull Open Ferens Art Gallery (2019), Shoosmiths art
prize, Arts for Health, Milton Keynes (2015), Neo art prize, Bolton (2012, 2015), Jerwood Drawing Prize, (2005), Royal Academy Summer
Exhibitions, 1990/2.

''I make 2-D work starting with lines. The lines are the edges of city structures. Some of the lines are drawn to contain colour. With colours I create a
composition, then I paint over the colours with black or white picking out the lines, leaving them visible. The bright colours underneath peep through
giving an internal light. The effect of the black and white is to make the white areas present against the black patches appearing absent. Painting around
the lines makes the space solid. This is a recent change in my work a move away from the lines existing in a void. I make these works to find the
patterns of human habitation I look at the geology and depth of history in old cities, or areas occupied by man. Luxembourg and Stockport have been of
interest to me because of the deep ravines and bridges over these. Rivers change course in cities, as the river has in Sheffield, making the city re-
orientate buildings. I explore old 19th century maps, made before maps were gridded as they have more details of lost places. When I make my
paintings there is an element of performance, the lines have a varying energy in them. The cities I create are a shorthand for many other forms of human
activity, such as music and science. When working with musicians I was surprised how easily I could communicate with them, particularly those
improvising from visual art
and my work. Another line of inquiry in my work is looking at Labanotation and how this brings music, and movement together with my city lines.
There seems to be music there in my work ready for musicians to pick out.''
Town Hall - Charcoal, 76x56, 2022 Works & Pensions Department - Charcoal, 76x56, 2022

Building Site - Charcoal, 76x56, 2022 WFlats - Charcoal, 76x56, 2022

Undercroft - Charcoal, 76x56, 2022 Flats & Gardens - Charcoal, 76x56, 2022
What is the biggest challenge in being
an artist? How do you address it?
The biggest challenge to me as an artist
now is trying to find myself and my voice. I
want to include so much and there are so
many things in the world I am thinking about
it all needs to be narrowed down and
simplified into a clear voice. I address it by
spending more time thinking and looking at
my work and not worrying about making lots
of art. I worry less about my work and
accept it as it is. Everything I think is
probably there it just needs revealing.
Where do you find inspiration?
With these city drawings, my inspiration
came from the sheer exhilaration of drawing
outside. In each of the drawings, everything
is held together in one sweep. Each
drawing started with pencil lines exploring
my surroundings. When I work I am almost
blind to what I am making so the inspiration
is to do with rhythm movement energy
flowing back and forth between me and my
surroundings and that is really what my
gestures are about.
Another source of inspiration is finding
music in a place, some sort of harmony. I
like rhythms, sometimes jarring architecture
discordant styles. Listening to music I see
ideas that I can translate into visual art. I do
not listen to music much of
the time I like silence, so when I do listen to
music it has a big effect I concentrate on it,
it is not background noise. Looking at
exhibitions is inspiring; the most recent are
Milton Avery, and Walter Sickert who are
both beautiful colorists.
Name the artist or artists you’d like to be
compared to, and why?
I would like to be compared with Julie
Mehetru, but she is much more consistent
and focused than me. Her work feels more
like drawing on paper, mine is more about
paint. In my drawings, there is one big
sweep and I can see this also in the swirling
vortex in Mehetru’s work. She leaves a void
in the middle and this is something I do. It
would be nice if I could make art that is
worthy of comparison with Turner whose
work goes beyond everything.
What do you like/dislike about the art
world?
Sometimes I go to private views of
exhibitions where I feel uncomfortable as
though I am being observed like some
strange creature. I am not good at
networking and making use of social
occasions, I am a bit frightened of people. I
like the recent change to public
engagement projects and the inclusion of a
range of audiences. I do not like the
exclusivity of much of the art world.
What motivates you to create?
I like making things with my hands because
it helps me to think. At the moment I am
trying to understand the dialogue that is
going on around painting. Seeing a
collection built up in my studio of pieces for
an exhibition and adding to it each day is a
motivation, a sense of achievement. Also
when someone says something about my
work that is motivation.
How has your style changed over time?
I am not so concerned with making framed
pictures, I am more interested in ‘making’. A
recent change in my work has been away
from a particular type of line, I have become
more interested in gestures because I
understand where they are coming from.
The lines are still there but not so
immediately easy to see. My work is more
tied to local issues, it is less general.
There is also a lot of returning, going over
previous ideas.
What are you working on at the moment?
I am working on a group of very small pieces of work. Ideas-
wise, I am working on several strands, one of them is making
gestures. I am looking at the tension between the body
molding what encloses it and how the architecture and
clothing mold the body. I am also working on cities and fossils
and how life organizes its space into units. Cities of today and
fossils that are the start of life millions of years ago.
How do you stay connected and up-to-date with the art
world?
I sign up for a number of newsletters and read what I am
interested in. I know that I miss you a lot. I am quite happy
with a general picture of what is going on in the art world. I do
not let my career get in the way of developing my art so
sometimes I move away from the art world. I have had
subscriptions to a number of magazines but got tired of the
predictable bias in the editing. At the moment I like Art Monthly
and the wide range of writers who contribute.
Do you have any exhibitions coming up?
I have a few exhibitions coming up. The most significant is the
Lido Open in Margate, which is selected from a large number
of entries, and opens on 12th October. Then there is the
Lancaster Art and Music Festival, I am contributing visual art
that responds to music by György Ligeti. I am taking part in
Graefe Art Concept a small group exhibition in Berlin at the
Graefe Gallery, Kollwitzplatz, Prenzlauer Berg opening on
27th October.
What are your long-term goals?
My long-term goals are to finally arrive at my artistic language.
For people to benefit from access to see my work and
appreciate it, I do not want my work to remain hidden from
view. I want to work through the full potential that is in my work
and artistic vision, through dialogue with other artists for this I
will need to be less frightened of people.

Underpass - Charcoal, 76x56, 2022

 NATA BUACHIDZE

Nata Buachidze is an artist from Tbilisi, Georgia. She grew up in a family of artists and architects, so being an artist is something very
natural for her. As a kid, her favorite pastime was to create - it did not matter what, she wanted to become connected to her brushes, to the
smell of paint, to the sound of pencil on the paper; that’s what she became when she grew up - an artist, and she’s more than happy with
her choice.
In 1990, she graduated from Tbilisi State Academy of Arts (Graphic design department), Tbilisi, Georgia. In 1990-1991 Nata did a training
course in Gray’s School of Art (Painting and photography course), Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.
Nata was working as a graphic designer from 1985, first as a freelance designer, then in 1991, in a design company ‘McElroy coats,
Edinburg, Scotland, UK, and from 1992 to 1996 in an Architectural & Design company, ‘Racurs’, Tbilisi, Georgia - she was painting and
taking part in local and international exhibitions at the same time. From 1993, she mainly devoted herself to painting, with occasional
design commissions. From 1999-present, Nata established an art school in Tbilisi and had a long pause in my own artistic life as she was
mainly involved in the life of the studio and organizing grand exhibitions connected with her art studio. In 2017, she started intensively
working as an artist again.
Her artworks are in private collections in Georgia, the USA, the UK, Belgium, Germany, Czechia, France, Norway, Australia, Ireland, and
more.

Artistic 10 commandments:
1. Art is life!
2. Art is for all!
3. Everybody has the right to the freedom of self-expression.
4. The artist can be unafraid of being naked.
5. Human beings become free when they get over their fears.
6. The artist reserves the right to be free of morals and religion.
7. There are no men and women artists, an artist is an artist! Urbanization - Paper, mixed media, Size 8.5x30cm, 2021

8. Art is weightless!
9. A dream is a reality and the quality of one's dreams equates to the quality of one's freedom of thought.
10. The wind is followed by stillness…
In the city

This city is nowhere and everywhere, it is a conglomerate of concrete transformed into poetry. That's how I see
cities- lighter, more transparent, and a bit more harmonious. Even though I am a painter and colors are my
language, for me, an ideal city has less colors, or is even monochromatic. My city welcomes more sky, my City
has a tendency to become a Poem, with its rhythm and depth and a touch of sadness.

Oil on canvas, 80x80cm, 2020

Day is over, hi night!
When I was a kid I used to be afraid of tall buildings.
When I was a kid I was not as tall as I am now.
(My height is 1.80)
But in the hours of darkness buildings hide, and there is a special light, full of magicians and long, mysterious
shadows fallen on a night sky lit by the fight between dark and light.
Acrylic & Oil on canvas,
Size 50x50cm, 2021
Concentration

Nighttime concentration with a lit light and a light head, head slightly burned by the daylight.

Oil on canvas
Size 60x60cm, 2022
'Stage, Location: Japan'
Japan is the most mysterious place in the world for me: for its aesthetics, minimalism, literature,
cinematography, theater, for its attitude to life & death.
It is like a stage!
Or like a chess game castling, when two pieces are moved at once. But instead of king and rook, the inside and
outside spaces are switching places...
Acrylic & Oil on canvas
Size 50x50cm, 2021
PETE CLARKE

Pete Clarke is an artist who

explores the social landscape,
his work develops paintings and
prints from images, drawings,
photographs and poetic text
culled from his documentary
notebooks.. He was born in the
North West of England and now
lives in Liverpool working at
Studio 4, the Bluecoat Art
Centre, Liverpool. He studied at
Burnley College, the West of
England College of Art, Bristol
and Chelsea College of Art,
London.

As the City
Oil & Acrylic on canvas
Size 100x120 cm, 2018
Where are you from and how does that
affect your work?
Pete Clarke was born in the industrial North
West of England, in Burnley Lancashire. He
grew up in the textile mill town of Nelson.
The influence of growing up in the
Lancashire industrial towns nestling in the
valleys of the Pennines with the dark
industrial contrasting with the rising
moorland hills creates that discontinuing
perspective which becomes a recurring
motif in many paintings. There is a sense of
reconciling simultaneous and contradictory
viewpoints, in many ways, this is like
experiencing a fragmented cubist world in a
local context.
What is your background?
He studied Fine Art at Burnley Municipal
College, the West of England College of
Art, Bristol, and Chelsea School of Art,
London. He moved to Liverpool to work at
the Art School after living in London and the
Isle of Wight, an island influencing many of
his drawings and paintings. He was the
subsequently Principal Lecturer in Fine Art
and MA Course Leader at the University of
Central Lancashire, Preston, leaving
teaching in 2014 to work as an artist in
Studio 4, the Bluecoat in Liverpool.
Why did you choose to be an artist?
It is difficult to say as I was always
interested in art at school and then
enrolling in a Foundation Course in Art at ways of making paintings, drawings, and
the age of sixteen at Burnley Municipal prints and the subject, its process, word,
College began my commitment to surface, and sign. He explores the social
sustaining a creative practice over the landscape, concepts of the changing city,
resulting years. Artists create opportunities and how ‘modernity’ has a particular set of
to explore social, political, and philosophical histories.
issues, to develop a critical context that What is our biggest challenge in being
opens up new possibilities to communicate an artist? How do you address it?
with a diverse audience and make sense of The biggest challenge for artists is to have
the historical and contemporary world in the courage and commitment to sustain a
which we live. practice, to keep on keeping on.
What inspires you?
He is inspired by the historical and creative
achievements of the many predecessors
who have struggled to make the world their
own. He is inspired by working with artists
and poets, for example, his ongoing
collaboration with the poet Robert
Sheppard. He has also worked creatively
with Georg Gartz, an artist from Cologne
making collaborative painting and drawing
projects, residencies, and exhibitions in
Germany and Great Britain. They also have
developed an ongoing drawing project
‘Turner’s travels’ exploring the iconic
landscapes of Britain and Germany. downpourscaffolding
What does your work aim to say? Oil & Acrylic on canvas,
He has tried to picture the changing social Size 100x120cm, 2018
and spatial environs attempting to establish
a negotiation between inventive
What do you like/dislike about the art
world?
The art world like all other worlds reflects
and demonstrates the inequalities, social
prejudices, and classifications
contemporary life. I like to think we can win
small battles to make a better world.
Name the artist or artists you’d like to be
compared to, and why?
A friend ironically said that Pete Clarke’s
practice is a curious synthesis between
British Impressionism and Russian
Constructivism.
What is the hardest part of creating for
you?
To sustain a practice, to have the
confidence to keep making, working, and
presenting in the context of a seemingly
depressing and negative world.
What is the role of an artist in society?
To repeat what I have just written
‘Artists create opportunities to explore
social, political and philosophical issues, to
develop a critical context that opens up new
possibilities to communicate with a diverse
audience and make sense of the historical
and contemporary world in which we live’.
Who are your biggest influences?
It is always interesting to speculate about
how an artist’s creative practice is
constructed by the dialectics of history
of
doubt and distance... of lost content A darkness that darkens
Oil & Acrylic on canvas, Oil & Acrylic on canvas,
Size 100x120cm, 2017 Size 100x120cm, 2018
and/or the peculiarities of their psychology
and personality – how we act in and on
history and how we act in and on sensibility.
Geography and social context are often the
mediators of personal practice.
The ghosts that haunt my work are certainly
Piranesi, Manet, Turner, and early Cubism,
their viewpoints, margins, edges, form, and
structure.
Tell me about your favorite medium.
Pete Clarke’s work moves between his
favorite mediums of drawing, oil and acrylic
painting and printmaking, and the language
Blistered skin
of poetry. Oil & Acrylic on canvas,
Size 100x120cm, 2018
QIANQIAN
LI
Qianqian Li is an artist, a worker, and a daughter currently working and living in London. After graduating from the Royal College of Art in
Contemporary Art Practice - Public Sphere, she chooses to continue exploring more possibilities about the world, country, family, and
herself. Her work revolves around surveillance, voyeurism, lust, and the human value of spaces. Sculpture, photography, writing, and
performance are the main languages of her creation. Her latest work Homeland (2022) is an installation with photos captured from an
online real estate agency, where the last archives of homes across the country before sale are preserved neutrally by panoramic
photography. Qianqian aims to explore the imagination and boundaries of intimate spaces in the digital age.

''Lately, I have been going through a sense of loss, my home was crumbling. My loved ones passed away, I left my familiar house, and I witnessed the
lost motherland under the epidemic, the absurdity of the 21st Century. The feeling of home extends all over the world at this time. Imagination becomes
extremely excited when confronted with the irrational, it builds walls with invisible shadows and comforts itself with protected hallucinations.

I started the project Homeland because I unexpectedly revisited my childhood home which I was permanently separated from on the house trading
platform. I wandered around every corner of strangers’ homes with the mechanical body, experiencing the joy of voyeurism, as well as feeling alienation
— when a home became a commodity, for the former owner, all the privacy and emotional attributes were stripped away.

I printed and framed these screenshots, and the family space became the protagonist of the photo. Qian Zhongshu wrote in the prose Window, Spring
should be seen in the window! If the door implies desire, then the window means possession. At home, you own all the scenery you can see from the
window. The photo frame has a similar function, according to Gillian Rose, the use of family photographs enabled people to create a sense of
‘homeliness’, a material environment that felt ‘homely’. People press the shutter on the thing they love, and they help the owner to take the thing they
cherish as their own.

In the video, the lost space described by the interviewee was reconstructed by me with the footage of the stranger's house used for trading. Memories
are strengthened by being spatialized, and the home is no longer experienced from an empirical point of view but becomes a constructed boundary that
tightly surrounds the self.''
 Homeland

Digital print on paper,

duvet, photo frames,
Size 230x230cm, 2022
Where are you from and how does that
affect your work?
I come from Nanjing, Jiangsu, China, a city
with a long history. It is undeniable that the
environment in which I grew up shaped me,
and to some extent stimulated my creation,
many of my works are about my hometown
and the collective memory of the
generation. Interestingly, I did all these
works during my stay in the UK, since I
found that the connection with my
hometown seemed to become more intense
when people were in a foreign land.
What is your background?
I had experience as a fashion designer,
then decided to further my study of
contemporary art. I don't actually think I
have a process of shifting majors from
design to fine art. Just like when I make
clothing, I often develop it in the form of
installations and performances. Nowadays,
when I make mixed-media works, I prefer to
use soft materials such as textiles. When I
chose to study fine art, the only change I
made was to jump the final form of my
works out of the physical structure. The
reflection of certain social issues was
always rooted in my art learning journey.
Why did you choose to be an artist?
In fact, I'm not used to calling myself an
artist, especially in the Chinese context,
"ist" is a significant suffix that people use for
people with high social achievements. As
an art worker, of course, I dream of being
an artist. If an artist is a job, I choose it
because of its freedom, full of unknown and
exciting in terms of career prospects and
salary; If an artist is an identity, I don't think
I chose it, but it happened to choose me in
many moments when I was growing up.
What inspires you? What motivates you
to create?
The social environment in which I grew up
was actually teaching people how to be
good children and find a good mother. I am
a component of society, and when this
component leaves the machine, it is just a
smooth, lonely baby screw that breaks
away from the matrix. During the epidemic,
I saw her stubbornness and cowardice of
her through the screen and I didn't know
what to do. But I am also very fortunate that
I can randomly rub some edges in the
process of falling off the machine and hitting
the ground. I hope that she and the world
can make some changes because of my
existence, even just a little bit. My persistent
expectation is the edges, and art is the
rough land.
What does your work aim to say?
Each of my works has different motives, but
I often think about whether they are
intrinsically related, and I find that all my
work expresses a critical attitude to modern
mythology, and replaces it with awe of
nature and the unknowable.
What is our biggest challenge in being
an artist? How do you address it?
The biggest challenge right now is career
anxiety, a large part of which comes from
family pressure. In China, traditional
parents generally think that being an artist
is not a stable and serious career. My
parents didn't know what I was doing, and
the trajectory of my life was constantly
shifting from what they wanted. As a fresh
graduate, I started thinking about some
more practical questions, how do I earn
money to support myself, can I find relevant
work, and whether my work will help me in
my artistic career? My recent thinking is that
a person can completely separate work and
passion, and life can have more than one
gradation, as long as they do not forget that
art is their lifelong career.
What do you like/dislike about the art
world?
What is art is a constant and unsolved
problem, so the boundary of art becomes
the dialectical relationship between
existence and non-existence. Because of
this, I think the art world is a mixed bag. I do
not deny the view that everyone is an artist,
it is just this phenomenon that in the art
market system centered on business and
capital, artists can easily become producers
of the art industry, kidnapped by business,
and long for the dream of business success
instead of his own persistence. I know that
the capitalization of art is the general trend,
and I understand everyone's pursuit. I just
hope that there will be more artists in the art
world who have awe and responsibility for
creation.
Name the artist or artists you’d like to be
compared to, and why?
It may be me at each node on the timeline if
I have to say it. I will often review my past
works and marvel at why I had such
thoughts at that time, including that I may
feel the same way when I watch this
interview a few years later. Self-examination
is a very important and difficult thing. It is
not to label oneself, but to seek a proper
position, which is related to oneself and the
world, oneself, and one’s works. It took me
a long time, but I haven't finished it yet.
What is the hardest part of creating for
you?
When I first came into contact with art, I
really needed to be recognized, as if the
external affirmation could strengthen the
meaning of my creation, and it was also a
certain standard for judging my work. But
there are always a lot of lonely times on the
journey of art, and I often get lost and fall
into a dead end in search of the ultimate
meaning. Later I realized that my work
cannot be loved by the whole world, but
even if only a small audience is moved by it,
that is the value of its existence.
What is the role of an artist in society?
Describe how art is important to society.
My school held a series of lectures last term
called The Urgency of Art, and I very much
agree with this — in this day and age, art is
a necessity rather than a luxury. It is a
universal language without borders, making
the world a whole, and prompting people to
live, think and struggle with human beings
as a unit. I felt like artists are like shelter
makers, the sanctuary requires the
imagination to build walls with invisible
shadows, comfort itself with the illusion of
protection, and possess the moral energy of
the human body and physiology.
Who are your biggest artistic influences?
In fact, there is more than one person who
has had a great influence on me. I would
like to say that one of them is Michel
Foucault, a genius postmodernist. He talks
about different histories, the histories of sex,
prisons, and the insane, all returning to a
central focus: How did "I" come into being?
This is the history of "I" and the genealogy
of "I". This is Foucault's most central
question, and it is also a question that I
need to answer with my creations.
Where do you find inspiration?
Snails, grass, photo albums, explosions,
rain, libido, videotape, grandma, love,
mirrors, the country, and everything you can
see and think about while walking in the
park.
When is your favorite time of day to
create?
My work usually starts after dark and I live
day and night upside down with the people
of London. When it's dark, everything
seems to have many possibilities, which is
very helpful for my research and thinking in
the early stage of creation. London's winter
days are horribly short, everyone is
struggling to find happiness and light in the
streets, while it’s a good time for me to
hibernate and create at home.
 TAMAR KHELASHVILI

#Silence
Helsinki 2022
Print size is variable
 #loveofmylife #5 #loveofmylife #7
Paris 2022 Paris 2022
Print size is variable Print size is variable
 #loveofmylife #6
Paris 2022
Print size is variable
ZIYAN LIU

Ziyan Liu is now based in London, graduated from Central Saint Martins, University of Arts London, and majored in MA Contemporary
Photographies; Practices and Philosophies.
Ziyan is a multi-media artist, she began to create her first artwork in 2015. Her current practice focuses on the entanglement between
digital objects and physical bodies. The works attempt to expand the body through electronic media and in the post-network phenomenon.
Ziyan sets out to analyze my multi-dimensional identities of myself through a series of digital objects.

''Technology and self-identity are the main subjects of my practice and art study. I believe technology cannot be only seen as a tool serving the form of
contemporary art. My works attempt to expand the body through electronic media and in the post-network phenomenon. At present, I set out to analyze
multi-dimensional identities of myself through a series of digital objects.

My current practice focuses on the entanglement between digital objects and physical bodies. Being a Chinese female artist who is currently living far
from family, I am in a situation where my intimate relationships are sustained on a non-physical level. I care about how affection between family
members can be delivered through screens.

I identify myself as a young Chinese artist growing up in a context of cultural impact. In this context, rapidly changing technological innovations and
cultural changes are pulling Chinese youth into one new aesthetic and cultural standard after another. The ever-refreshing memes, idols and hotlists are
driven through data, mashing our sensibilities and love into contemporary trends among my generation of Chinese. This is what I experienced and this is
what I want to express in my work.''
 My Apologies Message me when you get ready to go
MDF 12mm, digital printing, performance Digital print on board, electric mechanism
160x40x45cm, 2022 350x728mm, 2022
What is the role of an artist in society?
It seems to me that defining the role of an artist in society is a bit difficult. I don't mean to avoid the responsibility of being in a certain role
in our society. But it is as if we cannot yet define the artworks produced by each individual artist, I cannot point to our position in society for
the artist community as a whole. If you want to ask me how I understand my role under this context, I’d say that to try to create a space
between myself and ourselves and to be able to transform fortuity into perceptual inevitability through art.
Who are your biggest artistic influences?
It’s a mystery to me.
Tell me about your favorite medium.
I like using my body images and moving images as the main medium in my work.
Where do you find inspiration?
General says it’s all from my daily life. But I think that's an inappropriate way of putting it. I never try to find inspiration. Most of the time, I
just concentrate on trying to get on with my life. But when my questions cannot be simply answered by life, I get inspired to create. I think
it's a way to get past living through an impasse by asking rhetorical questions.
Does art help you in other areas of your life?
Everything is connected… I wouldn’t say that art is helping me but it does influence me a lot. When I consider my artwork, I also consider
myself. Personally, I strongly believe that working with art has developed my ability to think independently.
How do you develop your art skills?
My work doesn't seem to be limited to the skills side of things.
What's the purpose or goal of your work?
It really a tricky question… I rarely envisage what my work should achieve or reach. But in the current phase, I identify myself as a young
Chinese artist growing up in a context of cultural impact. In this context, rapidly changing technological innovations and cultural changes
are pulling Chinese youth into one new aesthetic and cultural standard after another. The ever-refreshing memes, idols, and hotlists are
driven through data, mashing our sensibilities and love into contemporary trends among my generation of Chinese. This is what I
experienced and this is what I want to express in my work.
I wish I could be able to deliver myself through my work to my audience.
How can your work affect societal issues?
From a creator/artist's point of view, it is difficult for me to predict or conclude how much my work’s influences will be and how it will/ had
affected. Rather than how my work affects society, I feel more about how society affects my work. The way I see the function of art in
society is by giving further elaboration to the whole environment. Creating artwork in the contemporary context is a key point in the
contemporary nature of the work. In recent years, after the epidemic and the gradual move into the post-epidemic era, my concern about
the projects has gradually developed from fieldwork to the analysis of my situation under the era impacts as a case study. I am not only
seen myself as an individual, but also I am a part of this society. My actions or emotional changes are also influenced by the
wider social environment. My collaborated work ‘Bread Project’ shows me and my friend Laure's weekly routine of walking to buy bread
from another block on the street in London. Whether it's choosing to walk long distances to avoid the cost of transport or the price of bread
going from four pounds to ten pounds due to a rise in the price of flour. The baguettes and sourdoughs held aloft in the sunlight have gone
from being ordinary to representing something not that daily normal. But you still can't say they are special. Because they are 'just' bread.
The information revealed in the ‘Bread Project’ is showing how societal changes impact our daily life.
What are you focussing on right now?
Technology and self-identity are the main subjects of my practice and art study. I believe technology cannot be only seen as a tool serving
the form of contemporary art. My works attempt to expand the body through electronic media and in the post-network phenomenon. At
present, I set out to analyze my multi-dimensional identities of myself through a series of digital objects.

'Luweng Humming' is the project I am working currently on which is based on my childhood experience.

Luweng was a Burmese Elephant in Zhengzhou Zoo from 1997 to 1999, later Luweng is on display in the zoo as a taxidermy elephant
since 2001. As a person who lived in the same city as the zoo, I witnessed the transition of Luweng during the weekends at the zoo with
my parents in my childhood. It shaped my early understanding of death and domestication.

I want to try to break away from the single visual-auditory medium that I had been used to. To allow the viewer to feel in front of the work
the first space of what they see and perceive "in front of them". If "hearing" is the dominant narrative and space is the narrative, then a
topographical space can be constructed by recreating this space through narrative, dialogue, or prose texts.

The classic forms of verbal narration (eg: podcasts, talk shows, or stand-up comedy) succeed in creating a field of vision for the viewer on
a textual level. The empathy of the viewer, the reflection and imagination based on the narrative, and the memories mobilized can be seen
as a continuation of the real world, the external reference system, the act of narration itself, etc. I think that this continuity contributes to the
interest and charm of these classic narrative forms. I want to find a suitable form to present this project through the study of narrative and
narrative space.
Creative conceptual numbering of pages from artwork 'Waiting at the traffic light', by Becky Moriarty
Pen, pencil
Size A3, 2021