The gap between the digital and the physical is getting smaller. As the internet of things and constant communication continues to thrive, I feel it is our duty to discuss and explore this gap before it is gone forever. My work is centred around generation Y’s innate connection to both the online and the IRL, a state of digital semi-nativeness.
Using video, image making and performance I have been exploring the role of community in both these sections of our lives. Thinking of space not just as a physical manifestation but also a digital concept. Is an online space as valid as a real life one? The idea that you can visit, chill or make your home in a digital environment is of great comfort in a world that is increasingly intolerant of difference and subculture. When pubs are closing down and artist studios are being turned into impenetrable high rises, the online could be the only place to turn.
However the digital is no longer an escape, it has become more connected to, and directly effects our daily lives. Autonomous online communities are emptying faster than any physical meeting place, leaving ghost towns in their wake. By exploring these abandoned communities we can see what the web once was, a free state of creativity and expression that is quickly fading from view. My work aims to reclaim these digital neighbourhoods. Using existing platforms to challenge the current state of online life, and create new spaces for digital performance that engage with it.
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Projects credited in
- Knights Of OmikronCollaborative exhibition with Marc Blazel 2017 Acting as a temple or shrine for deceased online communities of the early 2000’s, the exhibition becomes a place of mourning, and subsequently resurrection and tribute. Inspired by roleplaying forums, virtual chatrooms and vanity sites the artists create a realm inhabited by the ghosts of these online meeting places.
Work history
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ArtistFreelance
Bristol, United KingdomFreelance
Marc Blazel's practice straddles the line between online and IRL. Focusing primarily on the importance of creative spaces both digital and physical, his current research has investigated parallels between the decline in self-sufficient online communities and the closure of community spaces in the UK. This ties in to a broader exploration of online subculture and how relationships with the web effect artistic process. This has lead to video, writing, performance, installation and printed goods, all exploring the idea of internet as a separate physical space and how we coexist within it.
He has shown and worked with Chisenhale Gallery and Studios, Knowle West Media Centre, Arebyte Gallery, Ars Technica, IsThisIt?, i o u a e & Digital Artist Residency
Technician, Design & EventsArebyte Gallery
- London, United KingdomFull Time
Team member at Arebyte Gallery and studios.
Working one to one with artists and curators to realise their visions.
Managing studio spaces
Designing content for all aspects of the business.
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Skills
- Graphic Design
- Videography
- Directing
- Adobe
- Drawing
- 2D 3D
- Live Streaming
- Digital
- Art Installation
- Exhibition Curation
Education
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(BA) IllustrationUniversity of Brighton
- Brighton, United Kingdom
1st Class Honours (BA) Illustration.
Art and Design FoundationCentral Saint Martins (UAL)
- London, United Kingdom
Art and Design Foundation specialising in Illustration.