Liz Wilson

Commissioned by the blackShed gallery

Liz Wilson
OF CONFLUENCE

OF CONFLUENCE emerges as an ensemble of animations, sound and sculpture exploring the arterial route of a tidal river, namely the river Rother. In conceiving the work, Wilson was drawn to the subsequent bulges, spillages and blockages forming vast salt marshes creating transitions between land and sea. 

Propelling through the passing landscape of technology, recalibrated engineered and organic forms perform choreographed motions, simulating rhythms of our synthetic and natural ecologies. Parallel to this, percussive sounds, modulated voices and processed field recordings loop and evolve in motifs echoing notions of both past, present and the possibility of evolution. 

Pebble dashed navigation buoys take up residence within the installation referencing the historical dredging of pebbles from the seabed for use within the building industry. Used for covering up poorly constructed brickwork, pebble dashing became ubiquitous in post-war Britain as a way of producing cheap housing during a time of rapid development and societal need. A characteristic of the suburban landscape and along our coastlines, it signals as a reminder of the natural resources used within our fabricated environments. Suspended in time and place, the buoys remain anchored to the land in the ebb and flow of our manufactured ecosystem. 

OF CONFLUENCE is commissioned by the blackShed gallery and produced in partnership with The Talent Accelerator at the De La Warr Pavillion. The exhibition is part of Eastbourne ALIVE celebrating the Turner Prize 2023 exhibition at Towner Eastbourne.

Days open:
November 25, 26, 30
December 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10
Opening times 11.00am - 4.00pm
234 Terminus Road, Eastbourne

Opening event Saturday 25 November 4.00pm -7.00pm

About Liz Wilson

Liz Wilson’s practice explores the stretch of time between the industrial and post-industrial; In particular the beginning of automation and how this is altering our relationships with technology. Using site visits as a catalyst to research, write and produce works, she explores the human-machine relationship of both ‘conductor’ and ‘orchestra’ and how these performative roles manifest themselves during the process of manufacturing.

Since graduating with a masters in Fine Art from the Royal College of Art she has exhibited and screened works within the UK and internationally within various Art Institutions including Taoxichuan Museum of Art, China; OGA, Rome; Parc de la Villette, Paris; FACT, Liverpool; Hockney Gallery, London.

In 2019 she was awarded the first completely digital art commission for ‘Art in Manufacturing’, the headline-commissioning programme for the National Festival of Making (Supported by Arts Council England and Deco Publique.) This acted as a catalyst for further Arts Council funding to work with Liverpool based manufacturer CNC Robotics for two further years and culminated in a large-scale installation at the National Festival of Making in 2022 titled ‘Within the Wake’. This was featured in Aesthetica’s ‘Future Now’ anthology in 2023, a pulication which takes temperature of global contemporary art practice. In 2020 she was awarded a seven-month residency at Coachworks, Ashford (co-commissioned by Turner Works & Ashford Borough Council) where she collaborated with Hitachi Rail Ltd to produce a body of work which resulted in a multichannel video installation titled ‘The Orchestrated Unconscious’. In 2018 her work was shortlisted for Bloomberg New Contemporaries, the Stanley Picker Tutorship, in addition to being selected as ‘One to Watch’ by editor in chief for ‘After Nyne’ magazine.

Other notable awards include the Golsoncott Printmaking Prize (2022) Arts Council Development Funding (2019 & 2021) The Augustus Martin Print Prize (2017) Eaton Fund (2017) YLCE Award (2016) University for the Creative Arts Professional Development Grant.

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About the blackShed gallery

The award-winning blackShed gallery in the heart of rural East Sussex with a reputation of being a distinctive, diverse, and contemporary art space with a focus on artist led projects and exhibitions. The gallery has a strong and established relationship with several highly regarded partners, such as Hastings Contemporary, De La Warr Pavilion, Towner Eastbourne, Project Artworks as well as Talent Accelerator, which helps drive our work towards supporting community projects and young people as they look for experience within the cultural sector.

At its core, blackShed aims to develop and support the regional artist community, bringing high quality works through direct inclusion to a rural audience where socio-economic inequalities preclude participation in the visual arts. The environment surrounding the gallery is set in a beautiful location, giving artists the opportunity to explore their practice within the immediate environment, taking art beyond the gallery, often creating informal opportunities with the public and local visitors.

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