Making connections and exchanging critical ideas in Georgia and Hong Kong

What have you been working on since graduating and where are you currently based?

I was based between Berlin and London, moving between the 2 places, but Covid has made this more difficult and for the time being I am in Berlin, where my studio is.

Right now I am working on a few projects; a body of paintings, a solo exhibition that will take place in 2022 in a Kunsthalle in South Germany, a  sculptural collaboration with an artist based in Berlin  and a residency project with a collective I am part of that formed during my studies at Chelsea called Portland. We have just spent some time applying to the Arts Council after receiving an invitation to work alongside the archive of the Portland Arts and Sculpture Trust, UK in early 2021.

I am also working on a large interactive installation called Daisy Chains. This piece was motivated by the research I developed in my last months at Chelsea and on the residencies I took part in when on exchange in Hong Kong and Tbilisi, looking at ‘systems’ within society and communities.

Since graduating I have kept as active as I could, despite the circumstances. This includes being part of a group online exhibition with my gallery, Lehmann + Silva, in Porto called This Must be a Place curated by Sofia Lemos, where I made an experimental video of the world I was occupying during the lockdown period.

I have just finished an edition of hand-dyed silk works with screen printed words selected from a 55 poem exchange between my partner and I titled 42 Days - a limited edition from ET al Press, Berlin. And lastly I just had a solo exhibition with Hosek Contemporary on an old cargo boat in the centre of Berlin, titled Every Breath you Take and curated by Linda Toivio.

Can you tell us about these exchange visits? Why were you interested to take part?

I was interested to visit Georgia because I have a fascination with Soviet history and Eastern European culture. I am particularly fascinated with societies and cultures that have adapted to life in post-Soviet era, especially through art and the survival of creativity.

I took part in the residency in Hong Kong (HK) because, similarly to my fascination with Soviet history, I felt the drive to learn more about the political history and cultural conflicts that reside in present day Hong Kong.

What were the highlights of your time there?

I really enjoyed the studio visits we did with the other students at the Visual Arts and Design School (VAADS), and the very ‘hands on’ approach to learning and networking they had there - gallery visits, talks, taking part in discussions with art professionals and the students.

While I was there, I collaborated with fellow students, took part in regular studio visits and talks and we had two exhibitions: one at the VAADS and the other in a new commercial gallery in the centre of the city called Window Project. I hope that this experience will lead to other forms of collaborations as I plan to visit Tbilisi again.

In HK I really enjoyed the facilities they provided at the academy, and working with porcelain in their ceramic studios. The studios we worked in were definitely a highlight: based in an old RAF building that was built in the early 1920s, with overgrown Banyan trees occupying the grounds - it had a spooky presence. We explored so many areas of Kowloon and the island, going on regular hikes and excursions to discover a very interesting and sometimes disturbing environment. It was also at the time of the protests so there was a very different energy amongst the people.

What do you think is the value in taking part in exchanges of this kind – for you as a student and as an artist?

I think it is important to develop an understanding as a student of the different educational facilities that are available in different countries: the way in which art is learnt and discussed is important in developing your own practice and sharing experiences.

As an artist I think it is also important to be open to exchanging critical ideas to expand your own network, but also to build a sensitivity to other flows of artistic endeavours.

What advice would you give to other students considering taking part in an exchange of this kind?

I would say it is very important to keep an open mind to meeting new people, explore the city environment and the local art scene, regularly taking part in the possibility to meet new connections.

Find out about the history of the city and the country you are living in and visit museums and markets to build a sense of understanding of the communities that live there. Use the studio space available to make and experiment with new ideas, invite the students and other artists to take part in discussions and feedback about your work and work in progress.

How did your time away influence your work?

Luckily, I was able to use this time in Georgia and Hong Kong to begin my research into ‘systems’ and developing art scenes in Eastern Europe which I am looking forward to develop in my practice through installation.

I explored a dialogue with delicate and unusual materials which I assembled into sculptures; with this I have started to make a series of works in my studio in Berlin. The work directly responds to the themes I was playing with on both residencies.

What projects did you collaborate on whilst at Chelsea and with whom? Did this lead to any further projects?

I spent a lot of my time at Chelsea collaborating with other artists on the course. To me, that was the most important part of studying at Chelsea and what attracted me to this particular course with the new structure.

I have now a duo project called Data Blood with fellow MA student Emily Mulenga, with whom I collaborated with Sotheby's Institute students on an exhibition and we hope to expand the concept further into exhibitions, digital work and interactive installations. I also collaborated with MA Curating and Collections students in the form of an exhibition in their gallery space entitled Keep off the Grass, and presented an artist book selecting words to describe pictures and bring out concepts within the installation that was exhibited.

Whilst working on new work at Chelsea I met with gallery The Ryder and had my first solo exhibition in London: She doesn’t love, she just devours. This was an amazing experience and helped bring together most of the work I made in the workshops and on site in the form of an interactive installation and performance.

For the last unit of the course we were split into groups and we decided together with Sacha Craddock as our advisor, to form a zine collective called Portland, we are planning an exhibition in London and have another issue to be released.

Finally, I built a strong relationship with a student from Sotheby’s, Sonja Teszler, who is now a writer and a curator of a project space in south London, in which I had a solo exhibition Dirty Laundry after the Summer Show. We also hope to be working on some new exhibitions in the future in London and Denmark.

How has your practice developed since graduating?

It’s hard to describe how my practice has developed since graduating because I am still trying to reflect on the experiences I had during the course. It has only been a month or so since we handed everything in but I definitely feel more aware of a criticality within my work. I have become more selective in the decisions I make in the studio, thinking more about the overall effect of the work I make and if it is important to exist in a contemporary context.

What work/projects/exhibitions have you got coming up?

I have a few projects, works and exhibitions coming up but they are not set in stone yet. I have recently finished a new body of paintings so I can now spend some weeks in the studio planning the next year and figuring out the balance of life, money, work and art.

I have started to work with an alternative art school in Berlin, hosting workshops with the community. I am collaborating on a duo project with another artist based in Berlin. I have a few collaborations coming up with some of the other artists I studied with on the MA, one of which is a zine collective and I have two solo shows coming up next new year.

I also organise an alternative residency in an abandoned hospital north of Berlin which will take up some of time the next month's planning and sending out invitations to artists and creatives. So there are quite a few things to keep me busy!

The Camberwell, Chelsea, Wimbledon MA Graduate Showcase is now live. View the work of this year's MA graduating students at: graduateshowcase.arts.ac.uk

Find out about  MA Fine Art at Chelsea

See Alice Morey’s work on Instagram: @alicemmorey

Find out more about international exchange opportunities at UAL Global