Phoebe Winter

Augusts final feature is from Printmaker Phoebe Winter! Keep reading to find out more about her passions and work!-

Q1:What is your name, age, and where are you based?

A: Phoebe Winter, 20 Years old, Based: Isle of Wight when away from UNI at Brighton.

Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?

A: Had an interest in art since primary school which developed into a passion during A-levels where I began to think of it as a career choice. I began experimenting with what styles and mediums I could use to express my chosen topics, developing my love for art and its impact on human emotion even more. Moving to university in Brighton has only made my desire to enter the art work more prominent, as both a Female + Feminist artist.

Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?

A: Feminism as a whole, female objectification and sexualisation, the natural female body and most recently an exploration into the commonplace of sexual assault in modern society. My work has definitely altered the way I see myself, as well as how my artwork and appearance can be used to challenge social ideals of women.

Q4: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!

A: Tracy Emin is definitely one of my biggest inspirations. Her use of installation to confront social topics in an uncensored fashion creates an environment in which the audience is forced to question her motives and desires for the piece. Her pieces that have been most influential to me are ‘My Bed’ 1998 and ‘Everyone I have ever slept with’ 1963-1995. More often than not her artworks create discomfort and confusion due to their uncensored and confrontational nature, both feelings which force a person’s mind to think deeper in order to understand, something I have began to experiment with in order to force my audience to question the realities of female objectification and sexual assault.

‘Everyone I have ever slept with’ By Tracey Emin.

Q5: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

A: I don’t have a definite plan 5 years from now, however as long as I am creating and doing what I enjoy, I will be happy. I would ideally like to get some works in a gallery, and hopefully be living in Brighton full time while creating artwork!

‘Red bodies, black crosses’ by Phoebe Winter

‘Frilly Suspender’ print by Phoebe Winter

To find more of Pheobe and her artwork you can go to her Instagram!

Keep your eyes PEELED for more work and Pieces for the OP from Phoebe also…

Calum-Louis Adams

This weeks final feature is from multi-disciplinary visual artist Callum-Louis Adams! Their work stimulating, tangible and conceptual… Keep reading to find out more!

Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?

A:My name is Calum-Louis Adams, I am 21 years old and I am based in Brighton.

Q2:How did you first get into your creative practice / work?

A:I took up visual art quite late in comparison to other creatives. Although I had been writing poetry for many years, I only started working on my current visual practice when I was 18 during my foundation year. My practice started with performance work, using my body as a tool for drawing, painting and sculpting.
The aspect of performance was key for me, no matter what route I have taken since I first began
creating. Performance showed to me that material can be anything, and that ‘anything being material’ can mark canvas in the most incredible and strange ways.

Q3:Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?

A:Being a multi-disciplinary artist, I often explore relationships between the self, the body and the
material in whatever work I am doing, whether that be painting, performance or conceptual work. I
have struggled with my gender for a long time, and discovering a use for my body within the creation of work has allowed me to repair a broken relationship I have had with it and the self through art mediums. This body theme results in my practice often incorperating strange marking methods such as burial, chewing and screaming.

Q4:Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

A:Now this is a tough one, because anything can happen in such a short time. That being said, I am hoping that I will be training as a teacher or lecturer as well as being a working visual artist. I love to learn and am passionate about education, so It would be a shame for it all to stop at my experience without passing it onto others.

Q5:How has the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected your Work?

A:Surprisingly, once the lockdown was announced, I found working on my practice to be a great
distraction for any anxieties I may have felt during such a strange time. I started spending more time on developing my art style, and on caring for self, thus my work.

Q6:Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!

A:In terms of the art world, I absolutely love Piero Manzoni for pushing boundaries in where artwork derives its worth, often weighing on the name and status of the artist as opposed to the actual work. Outside of specific artist inspiration, Found objects that can be used as extensions of my body, ‘tools’ for painting spark creativity for me.

Q7:If you could share one message with the world, what would it be?

A:I think too often, artists can fall into the trope of taking art too seriously, stressing on trying to present as professional as possible. Although this is very important, I would say its also equally as important to experiment and have fun! Drop the paintbrush for your fingers and feet, throw away the pencil and kick the paper through mud and dirt to create marks or grab a hammer and chisel to carve holes into the paper… There is beauty in such naive and childlike exploration.

‘Untitled Drawing, Post Burial (4 Months); Soil, Gum Arabic and Pencil on Paper’

‘Siphon (Dance Theory); Clay, Water and Pencil on Newsprint’

‘Untitled Drawing, Post Burial (3 Months) Soil, Gum Arabic, Ink and Pencil on Paper’

To find and Support Callum you can go to their Instagram! And also their website!

-THANKS FOR READING, SEE YOU AGAIN SOON-

Shania Harness

We are starting this week with a mini artist feature from Young Photographer Shania Harness, who is also from Norfolk which is where the OP is based!

Give her work lots of love+ keep reading…

Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?

Hi, I’m Shania Harness, I am 19 and am a Norfolk based photographer.

Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?

I have always been a creative person, I think I first realised this in primary school when I won 1st prize in the art category of the Norfolk Show (seemed like a big deal at the time), this creativity became even greater when I received my first camera- I took it everywhere, it even had a waterproof case so I used to dip it into the water while canoeing along Norfolk’s peaceful rivers, yes the images were mostly blurry but it sparked a passion.

Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?

I love to experiment, my current project is based around escapism- going somewhere you have daydreamed of, but in miniature form. Although a lot of my work revolves around being outside.

Q4: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!

The outdoors- I could spend hours exploring!

Q5: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

I hope to have just finished a degree in natural history and marine photography and start exploring the photography industry. Maybe working for somewhere like national geographic or even just travel the world with my camera. Who knows!

All images by Shania Harness! You can follow her on Instagram!

-THANKS FOR READING-

-KEEP EYES PEELED FOR MORE CREATIVE CONTENT-

Jess Trainer

This weeks last Artist Feature is from self proclaimed Feminist Artist and amazing MOTHER FUCKING WOMAN Jess Trainer. We have known eahcother for a few years however Jess has recently ventured into commissionable artwork and doing her own creative THING…

Keep reading to find out for more!

Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?

A: I’m Jess or @_femininefeminist_ , I’m 25 and based in Sheffield.

Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?

A: As I grew up as an only child, I did a lot of drawing and painting as a kid and creative subjects like art, dance and literature were always my favourite at school. Those were the things I enjoyed so I worked hard at them. I then followed them through GCSE/A Level, did my degree in BA Fine Art and ended up teaching and supporting in creative classes for adults and teens with disabilities. I actually used to want to design album covers or work in high fashion but now I’m more interested in using art to improve the lives of others.

Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?

A: If you couldn’t guess by my instagram handle, my work is mostly about women’s issues, particularly identity, how we’re perceived by others and how we’re expected to be. My work is usually very personal and responsive and one topic that I always come back to is the female body and sexuality. like so many other women I’ve dealt with varying degrees of sexual assault, I’ve been on ridiculous diets trying to fit myself into the ideal body, and very recently I suffered a miscarriage. All these things have led to a complicated relationship with myself and I think anyone who identifies as a woman, even if we haven’t shared experiences, will share that relationship with their own body. I find I’m constantly working on forgiving my body, loving my body and looking after her and that’s something that feels very important.

Q4: How has the COVID- 19 Pandemic affected your work?

A: I moved to Sheffield just before we went into lockdown so I have been out of work for a few months now and having my art practise has been a blessing. I’ve spent lockdown mostly focussing on ways I can move forward with my own art and create a proper business out of it that I feel genuinely excited about.

Q5: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!

A:Tracey Emin! I was always told not to reference Emin at University because she’s too obvious and every young female does. But I find that so important about her, her work is so so personal and raw and you feel like she’s talking to you and telling you her stories of grief and pain and love and sex and I think its something a lot of young women relate to.

Tracey Emin for Tate Talks

Q6: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

A: I’ve been accepted onto a MA in Art Therapy which I’m so excited about, it’s something I’ve wanted and have been working towards since I was a teenager so hopefully in 5 years I’ll be helping others use art to process their own trauma and understand their own emotions a little better.

Q7: If you could share a message with the world, what would it be?

A: ‘You can’t change other’s actions but you can change your reactions.’ It’s something my yoga teacher and long time friend said recently and it really resonated with me and allowed me to be a bit more mindful, relax my shoulders and carry a little less anger and grief around with me.

If you would like to follow Jess and support her work you can find her on Instagram + Her ETSY store!

-THANKYOU FOR READING. STAY SAFE GANG-

Jake Williamson

Today on the OP we are featuring another talented photographer! Jake’s work covers many topics but they are currently venturing into the Queer Photography scene more!

Keep reading to find out more…

Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?

A:My name is Jake Williamson, I’m 19 years old and I’m studying in London.

Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?

A: Being creative came to me during high school, I started doing photography as a GCSE
and that’s when I started my creative journey.

Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?

A: My work over the last few years has always had a political point of view. From domestic
abuse, Nazism, Racism, Feminism, and Pollution. I am currently getting further into the
fetish and Queer photography scene.

Q4: How has the COVID- 19 Pandemic affected your work?

A: Covid-19 was a scooter to the ankle for us creatives that sometimes struggle with
finding motivation. My university work went through to lockdown… which was fine…
for a day… the sense of being in a working environment is something I heavily admire.
So being in a bedroom in Norfolk just wasn’t cutting it for me.

Q5: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!

A:When it comes to inspirations, Muses, and people I heavily admire, Pete Burns would be
in my top 3. A man who put his fingers up to conforming and lived his life the way he
wanted. He spoke his mind and did everything for himself. I appreciated him before he
died and will continue to do so.

‘Dead Or Alive’- Pete Burns.

Q6: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

A:When I get asked where I see myself in 5 years, I panic. I haven’t got a bloody clue! I
have a rough idea of what I want to do. Something on the lines of styling and
photography would be lovely. As long as I’m happy!

Q7: If you could share a message with the world, what would it be?

A: If I was to have a motto that everyone would hear, it would be “Don’t be a hater dear”.
What people dress in, identify as, or who they sleep with or love, has absolutely nothing
to do with you…

You can find and support Jake at their Instagram!

-THANKYOU FOR READING-

Molly Russon

We are really getting into summer now..

We have a brand new Full Artist Feature by talented Illustration Molly Russon! Keep Reading to find out more…

Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?

I’m Molly Russon, I’m 22 and I’m an illustrator based in London.

Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?

A: I’ve always been interested in art and I think just had it in my head that art was what I was going to do. My mum is an artist, so I grew up drawing and painting, but I think I wanted to Illustration when I realised that working with lots of different clients means you can work on so many different sorts of projects. I’m one of those people that wants to do everything, so the fact illustration gets used in so many ways really appeals to me!

Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?

A: I don’t really purposefully have themes in my work, but I always want to make work that kind of points at maybe the mundane, ordinary or the stuff we take for granted, and says ‘ah, that’s a weird/beautiful/funny thing’.

I also really love history and want to do more work telling stories about people from the past and how they lived their lives as it really interests me. I’ve done a few projects looking at figures from the past. My book about Alfred Wallis which looked at his work but also his battle with mental health, and also the LGBT lives of the Bloomsbury Group. Often the stories that don’t get told interest me a lot.

Q4: How has the COVID- 19 Pandemic affected your work?

A: Lockdown has allowed it to just be me and my work, and that has been really good. I think because I’m quite good at comparing my work to others, having this time to just focus a bit more has been great. Also being forced to get into a good routine and work out how to work from home- as that would be the situation for me Covid or no Covid- has been really useful in setting myself up for being a freelancer after uni!

Q5: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!

A: I suppose I kind of have to say Alfred Wallis. I’m obsessed with him. Then I wrote about his work and life and that got worse. He’s a folk artist – so completely untrained – and he just communicates his love, obsession, knowledge and concern for the sea and boats in a way that I don’t think any trained artist could. It’s that translation of passion and a point of view into art, that I would love to be able to do. For it to come completely from someone’s heart and to be able to feel that as another person is amazing to me, and often kind of dampened by training a lot of the time. It’s very rare to find trained artists that are able to do that.

Q6: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

A: I don’t know really. Part of me wants to just sing the lyrics to the Noah and the Whale song as a response instead ! I do have things I’d like to do though. I’d liked to have worked on illustration jobs for magazines or publications by then. That’s one place I’d like to see my illustrations. I also would like to have maybe written or illustrated another book? Ive got a few ideas so maybe by then I would have decided which one to do. I also love the idea of working with other people such as writers on collaborative projects. Also ceramics, I hope I get access to doing that again soon. Apart from that in five years I’d like to maybe have a studio space somewhere!

Q7: If you could share a message with the world, what would it be?

A: I think probably just be compassionate. To others and especially to yourself. How you treat yourself will help your interactions with others. Respect yourself. Don’t beat yourself up. Give yourself time to learn and grow. Listen to yourself. Once you’re doing all that for yourself you can do all that for others. So everyone should start there.

You can find more of molly’s GORGE art work on her Instagram! And also her Website https://www.mollyrusson.com

-THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING-

-STAY SAFE KIDS-

BLM Protest in Cornwall- Ellice March.

First on BLM Week at the OP we are in conversation with one of the Organisers of the BLM Protest in Truro, Cornwall on the 15th of Jue 2020. Ellice Marsh.

Keep reading to find out more about the Day off the Protest+ how it effected her community…

Q1: What is your name, age and where are you from?

A: Ellice Marsh//Redruth, Cornwall//19 (18 at the time of the protest).

Q2: What made you want to organise the BLM protest in your community?

A: I was+am so tired by the amount of racism and hatred in Cornwall, and I wanted to let the black people in the community know that there are lots of us that care and will stand up for them!

Q3: What was the most difficult aspect of organising the protest?

A: The hardest part was probably ensuring that everything was safe and social distanced as COVID-19 is obviously still a huge issue, but we managed to keep everyone 2m apart and still have over 1500 people attend!

Q4: What was the most rewarding moment?

A: The most rewarding moments were just letting black people in the community speak and share their experiences and witness their pain and raw emotion, and to hear their thanks for organising the protest, I really felt like I was helping people!

Q5: Has anything come from the protest/ had a lasting effect on your community?

A: More people in the community have shared their experiences with racism and exposed how much it happens in Cornwall, people have also contacted local schools etc and spoke to them about educating kids on the true history of the British empire and racism in Britain!

Q6: Do you have any tips for others wanting to organise their own BLM ( or other) Protest?

A: In terms of tips for organising, make sure there’s a small team of you as it’s a lot of work on your own, consider risk assessments and every possibility or things that could go wrong to make sure everyone is as safe as possible, and just gaining as much support as possible from local MP’s and people in positions of power, also contacting and cooperating with local news stations too!

For example I did an interview for bbc radio Cornwall, and for ITV westcountry (and was actually on tv which was crazy) but we got loads of great coverage and proved how much people care about Black lives matter!

To read another article about the event you can visit ‘Cornwall Live’ ! And also find other local BLM Protest on Facebook Events! OR ORGANISE YOUR OWN!

-THANKS FOR READING-

-BLACK LIVES MATTER-

We are Dedicating this week on The Orange Peel Blog to the Black Lives Matter movement.

Although the global media may not be covering the Real Life protesting and violence which is still occurring around the world, RACISM is still a Global issue that needs to be tackled. So this week we are sharing content from U.K based Artists and Activists who have produced work around the BLM movement or helped promote the message and tackle Racism in their own way.

Daisy ( OP Co-Creator) has created a series of ‘Black Lives Matter’ Badges+ Patches which are available to anyone who has donated to the BLM cause/ anyone who would like to purchase them!

Just message her at her Instagram- @_daisynell_

And if you would still like to support the Movement/ Donate to a good cause visit https://blacklivesmatter.com for all the resources you would need!

‘A surge of power (Jen Reid)’ 2020- Bristol. by Marc Quinn.

-Stay tuned this week for more BLM content+ Remember to check your Privilege-

Eluders Band

Today we are sharing an interview with the first Band we have featured on the Orange Peel!

Another Norfolk creative duo who go by Eluders! Keep reading to see the full interview and here some of their music!

Q1: What is your Name, Age, and Where are you based?

A: Fin is 17 & Bri is 18, and we’re based in Norfolk.

Q2: How did you first get into your creative practice/ work?

A: We’ve both been playing our instruments for 8+ years, and we found eachother as our dads are close mates. Being into the same music, we just kinda clicked and after a few small gigs at local pubs, we decided to proper try and push ourselves!

Q3: Are there any main or overarching themes you explore in your work?

A: Lots of our music is very politically written and focusing on themes that are impacting our lives.

Q4: How has the COVID- 19 Pandemic affected your work?

A: COVID has completely ruined so many plans we had. We had new music in the works, tons of gigs upcoming, and even merch on its way but we haven’t got the equipment around us to get anything recorded now. stay at home & wash ur hands people, the sooner this gets sorted the sooner we can be back on stage.

Q5: Highlight one of your biggest inspirations!

A: We both look up to similar people. Punk bands like ‘Strange Bones’ and the ‘Blinders’, upcoming local artists, are possibly are biggest inspirations!

Screenshot from ‘The Blinders’ ‘Brave new world’ MV

Q6: Where can you see yourself in 5 years’ time?

A: 5 years is a long time, but we’ll probably be crowdsurfing somewhere, and if not, probably just sat on the sofa drinking tea. we live exciting lives.

Q7: If you could share a message with the world, what would it be?

A: Only advice we can give is don’t be a prick. EASY AS (:

‘green screen’ by Eluders Band.

You can find Eluders on Instagram – @weareeluders and also support them by listening to their music on Spotify!

-SEE YOU AGAIN SOON-

‘Home’ A Think Piece by Matilda Vidal.

About a month ago, I broke up with my boyfriend.

When I told him that he could stay in the room that we were renting and that I would
leave, he replied something that surprised me: he said that this place did not feel like
home if I wasn’t there and that there was no point for him to stay.
This made me think about what makes a place home. Is it the bond you have with the
people you share this space with, is the space itself just superficial?
The theme of “home” gradually appeared as a recurring theme in my photography. It
happened unexpectedly, but, this is the first time that I intellectualise it and put it into words.
My relationship with my home is quite profound, it is an important part of my life. Growing
up in the middle of nowhere in rural Brittany, France, means that you spend quite a lot of
time in your home. My parents always put a lot of work into their homes and have tackled
a lot of renovation projects. I have family members working in construction, some others
in antiques and my mother is an estate agent in the countryside. Hence a lot of my world
and the topics of conversation that I have heard since I was a child in my family, were
about houses and living spaces.
The result of this is that I am fascinated by spaces that people call home. I like familiarity
and habits, I like cities and urbanism, I like to know where people are from and what
draws them to their home. I love London and how it has become home for so many
people. It may be an apartment block, a basketball court, a busy high street; there are
always places that people call home in London and I want to learn more about them.
Moreover, in my work in production design for film, I always find myself thinking about
domestic places. Recreating living spaces for films is an amazing exercise that demands
a lot of attention to detail. It requires to dive deep into the script and its characters: their
history, their passions, their characters traits etc. What kind of decoration (if any) is on
the wall? Would the space be cluttered or neat and tidy? What food is in the fridge?
Every answer needs to be decided according to the story and characters, design in film,
is an essential part of storytelling. Thinking about those crucial and revealing details
while designing films, made me realise that I could also pursue them with my
photography.
When entering a home, I like to see the charm that spills out of a kitchen or the layers of
decoration that has built up in a bedroom throughout the years. When in an outside
location, I like to think about memories and nostalgia. I love to take picture of those
places that people have called home once and come back to later with reminiscence. Are
these a places calm and peaceful or are they places of chaos, anxiety and worry? What
are or what were the relationships like in these living spaces? I am attracted to the
atmosphere of a place, its light and how the objects scattered around can tell me so
much about a person without them being there. Hence, this love for the home, the house
and the familiar has become a recurring theme in my photography and is what directed
me in this series of photographs. Every room tells stories and I want to share them.

-Words + Images by Matilda Vidal.