20/20 meet the artists: Sonya Dyer
- Written byKatie Moss
- Published date 24 July 2023
In June, UAL announced the twelve emerging and mid-career artists in the second of 2 cohorts for 20/20: a national commissioning and network project directly investing in the careers of a new generation of ethnically diverse artists.
20/20 was launched in November 2021 by UAL Decolonising Arts Institute, working with a network of 20 UK public collections, museum and gallery partners, and with funding from Freelands Foundation, Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants Programme and UAL.
We caught up with Sonya Dyer about being selected for the second cohort of artists for 20/20. Her residency is taking place at The Box, in Plymouth.
Tell us about your artistic work, discipline & background
"My work intertwines speculative fiction, hard science and mythologies to propose new ways of conceiving where the centre is located in fictional narratives of the future.
"I work primarily in sculpture and moving image. I am interested in creatingspaceships that do not look like spaceships, and films that speak to the genre of speculative fiction without being held to its conventions. In particular, I combine practices and knowledge forms that may not traditionally be associated with each other, for example morse code, Kemetic yoga, hard science or astronomy to re-inscribe neglected stories into the work.
"A resident artist at Somerset House Studios, London, I was a finalist for the Arts Foundation Futures Award 2021, and am an alum of the Whitney Museum of American Art: Independent Study Program. I am a lecturer in the department of Fine Art, Goldsmiths College, University of London."
Why did you apply for the 20/20 project?
"After working for almost a decade on my previous body of work, Hailing Frequencies Open, I was intrigued by the possibility of getting to know elements of the collection at The Box and seeing what kinds of ideas they might conjure.
"I use speculative fiction as a way of thinking about – and through – time and space, history and mythology, science and science fiction.
"The city of Plymouth is fascinating to me as a historic port with a complex history. The connection between the maritime and the cosmos is an area I aim to explore, as I am interested in expanding beyond the traditional conception of ‘the maritime’ in my work. 20/20 also provides an opportunity to think critically and playfully about how mythologies of place (city, county, nation) and belonging might be subverted."
What conversations, thoughts or feelings do you hope to encourage amongst your audiences during your residency?
"I want to encourage myself and others to look up, down and around, and reimagine what a port is and what artefacts we might retrieve from the future.
"My proposal is to use the collections at The Box as a starting point for a speculative work that engages with the histories of the objects and the practice of reimagining and reconfiguring that speculative and science fiction creates space for.
"In particular, I am excited to find out what happens when the philosophical naval and science fictional concept of ‘Space as an Ocean’ and The Box’s permanent collections collide. ‘Space as an Ocean,’ is explored in Naval philosophy as well as science fiction properties such as Star Trek where space is conceptualised as an ’ocean-like cosmic environment.’ This also echoes many ancient cultures' understanding of the interconnectedness of earth, sea and air. This will be the starting point for my research at The Box."
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