Melanie King is an artist and curator with a specific focus on astronomy. She is co-Director of super/collider, Lumen Studios and founder of the London Alternative Photography Collective. She is a lecturer on the MA programme at the Royal College of Art, and on the BA Photography course at University of West London. Melanie is a PhD Candidate at the Royal College of Art. She is a graduate of the MA in Art and Science at Central Saint Martins, and the BA Fine Art at Leeds Art University. Melanie is based at Resort Studios in Margate, UK.
Melanie's solo exhibitions include Leeds Art University (2017, 2020), Bloomsbury Festival (2019), the Blyth Gallery, Imperial College London (2018). Melanie has exhibited in a wide range of international galleries, such as The Photographers' Gallery, UK, the Hasselblad Foundation, Sweden, BOZAR Brussels, Unseen Amsterdam, the Williamson Gallery in Los Angeles and CAS Gallery in Japan. Melanie has attended residencies organised by Lay of the Land Ireland, Joya Arte and Ecologica, Spain, Bow Arts, Grizedale Forest, BioArtSociety, Finland and SIM Reykjavik, Iceland.
Melanie has been involved in a number of large scale commissions, including the EU Commission, Museum of Freemasonry, Bow Arts, Green Man Festival, Vivid Projects, Bompas and Parr X Citizen M Hotel, Mayes Creative, Design Miami x COS Stores, Chelsea Flower Fringe and the Wellcome Trust.
Melanie regularly presents her work at conferences, universities and galleries. Notable venues include the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Photographers' Gallery, Tate Modern, Science Museum, Art Center Pasadena (USA), University of the Arts Helsinki, The European Geosciences Conference: Vienna, The National Maritime Museum, Kosmica: Mexico, Kosmica: Paris, Helsinki Photomedia and Second Home.
Melanie has provided guest lectures to students at Newcastle University, Leeds University, Canterbury Christ Church University, Bath Spa University, Leeds Art University, London South Bank University, London College of Communication, Central Saint Martins and the International Space University: Space Studies Programme.
Melanie has demonstrated Moholy Nagy's photogram process on-screen for the BBC4 Bauhaus Rules documentary. Melanie has also provided an on-screen interview and telescope demonstration for the "She Takes The Night" film produced by Museum of London and Photofusion.
Melanie also organises participatory workshops in relation to her practice. She has developed workshops for the TATE Modern, Tate Britain, Whitechapel Gallery, The Photographers' Gallery, The Courtauld Institute, South London Gallery, Baltic 39. Metal Peterborough and the Museum of Science and Industry amongst many others
Projects
- Ancient LightAbout Ancient Light Ancient Light was born out of a desire to capture light from distant stars directly onto photosensitive film. Distinct from photographs of terrestrial objects, light travels for thousands, if not millions, of years before reaching the lens. To me, these images demonstrate the intimate material connection between humans, the landscape we live in and the space existing beyond our atmosphere. We are intimately connected with the stars, within the materiality of our being. Hum
Work history
U
U
Module LeaderUniversity of West London
London, United KingdomPart Time
Lecturer on the BA Photography pathway at the University of West London. Leader of "The Photographic Object" module.
LecturerRoyal College of Art
London, United KingdomPart Time
Lecturer on the School of Arts and Humanities pathway at the Royal College of Art. Modules include "Critical Cartographies" & "Images Can Be", as well as leading school crits.
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Skills
- Visual Arts
- Art Photography
- Printmaking
- Sculpture
- Fine Art
- Multi-media Artist
- Environment
- Photography
- Photograph
- 120 Film
Education
PhDRoyal College of Art
- London, United Kingdom
Art ScienceCentral Saint Martins (UAL)
- London, United Kingdom
Art + Science
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