This week we catch up with BA Fine Art 2014 graduate Laura Fowle as part of our ‘One Year On’ series.
It has been one year since you graduated- what have you been up to?
Since graduating I have been lucky enough to be one of the four graduates awarded the ArtQuest Lifeboat Residency programme with ACAVA Studios. It’s been vital to the progression and maintenance of my practice and offers key mentoring support. The opportunity to continue to have a studio and to be surrounded by like-minded artists has been great to challenge and motivate me in my works and has enabled me to continue to make work to the scale I had grown accustomed to at Chelsea College of Arts.
How has your art practice developed since graduating?
I feel my work has certainly developed on an aesthetic level since graduating, although my fundamental concerns and motivations to make the work have not differed too drastically. I think when you have your teeth into a concept or process it’s not necessarily a bad thing to see it through. I have been a lot more open minded to new materials and methods of working, and have really enjoyed the freedom of exploring new processes. Being able to work through problems with the support of the guys I share the studio with has certainly been key to the development of my works.
Roll /Unroll: Something that looks like art, Laura Fowle 2015
Have you taken part in any exhibitions since graduating?
Aside from being an artist in residence with ACAVA Studios, I have been in a couple of exhibitions since graduating. However, more recently I have been a little selfish in purely focusing on developing my works in the studio. I also like to publish my own artist books, which has been a great platform to engage with. A couple of my publications are now available in the Chelsea Special Collections too.
How did you find the Summer Show experience last year?
I think everyone found the experience a little mind-blowing. The set-up was extremely stressful and draining as I was making the work as I went along, however it was such a learning curve. It was really rewarding to be able to stand back after spending so much time, money and energy on a work and feel content and proud of what I had made. Advice I would give current third years would be is to get help! The degree show set up is not a task to tackle alone.
The private view was great, I was really chuffed to be able to bring my family and friends along to show them what I had done. However, it was a little overwhelming knowing how many people would be coming to see your work and how influential these people could potentially be. You just don’t want to mess up!
Lattice (∞), Laura Fowle, 2015
Is there any advice you would like to give to our current or prospective BA Fine Art students?
I would say that it is fundamentally important to appreciate the time you have at Chelsea. Use all the workshops and facilities that are at your fingertips to their full potential, create discussions and conversations in the studio and with your peers, it’s so vital to progressing work. I would also say its also great to apply for opportunities outside of college whilst you are there, I wish I had done more of this, its a useful way to prepare yourself for life after graduation. Lastly, I think it’s important not to compare your work to others; we each have our own path to progress down.
Related links:
Find out more about Chelsea’s BA Summer Show 2015
See more of Laura’s work – www.laurafowle.com
Follow Laura on Twitter – @laurafowleart
Follow Laura on Instagram – @laurafowleart
Find out more about BA Fine Art at Chelsea on the course page