Liminal Gallery Podcast Louise Fitzjohn

Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Louise Frances Smith, to coincide with her solo exhibition ' ‘It gathered here’ in The Cupboard at Liminal Gallery in Margate. The exhibition presents a series of site specific sculptures, playing with scale, the organic, body-like forms appear to be engulfing the small space, growing, crawling and spreading around the walls - posing the question of what the repercussions of human intervention is on our fragile coastal ecosystems, hiding behind the door of The Cupboard.
The sculptures in ‘It gathered here’ are created from seaweed collected by the artist from Margate beaches - specifically wireweed seaweed (Sargassum Muticum) which was thought to have been introduced to the coastline in the 1970s to bolster the failing ‘native’ oyster industry. The ‘invasive’ and ‘non-native’ species is now thriving due to climate change and can smother light and oxygen from species that live beneath the surface of the water. Smith has used this abundant wireweed seaweed to create a bioplastic, mixed with fabric and found plastic for an experimental material to create the works. The inspiration for the sculptural forms comes from epibiosis, which is the close interaction between two different organisms, the host organism providing an environment for the other which is attached to its living surface.
 
The Cupboard is Liminal Gallery’s second exhibition space, tiny but sleek it is exclusively available to artists living and working in Thanet. Smith will use this space to showcase a new body of work, employing natural local resources to comment on the fragility of Kent’s coastlines and the anthropogenic impact it is enduring. 
Louise Frances Smith lives and works in Ramsgate, Kent. Her practice spans sculpture, installation and works on paper. Working with an array of materials including clay, seaweed and bioplastic, Smith creates highly textured surfaces to bring attention to the patterns and textures created by nature, magnifying micro details alongside man-made interventions. By collecting materials from her local coastline to use as materials in her work, Smith’s works are conceptually and physically linked to her local landscape where she takes her inspiration.
Last year Smith was selected as a finalist for The Ingram Prize 2023, exhibiting at Pavilion Gallery, Cromwell Place. Early in 2023 she received an Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant to create a new body of work which was exhibited at Collect Open 2023, Somerset House. Smith later exhibited this work at The Margate School.
In 2022 Smith received DYCP Arts Council England funding which led to her first solo show at Joseph Wales Gallery ‘HOLDFAST, experiments in seaweed, chalk & clay’. Other recent group exhibitions include - ‘The Wild Collective’, collaborative exhibition between Thrown Contemporary & Metafleur at Omved Gardens, London; ‘Despatch’, Work Show Grow Mail Art Collaboration, New Forest Heritage Centre, and ‘ING Discerning Eye 2021’, Mall Galleries, London. Louise Frances Smith graduated from CityLit with a Ceramics Diploma in 2019 and from Kingston University with a BA (Hons) Fine Art degree in 2009.
Visit the Online Viewing Room here:
https://www.liminal-gallery.com/louise-frances-smith-it-gathered-here
Contact us for all questions and enquiries: info@liminal-gallery.com
Follow us on Instagram: @liminal_gallery
With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

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Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with internationally renowned contemporary artist Laura Ford, to coincide with her solo exhibition ' ‘Little Lords’ in Liminal Gallery's Main Space in Margate. The exhibition showcases a collection of sculptural and wall-based works which explore the boundaries between desire and imposition, inviting viewers into the realm of play and imagination.
 
Laura Ford's 'Little Lords' sculptures take centre stage, portraying three boy-like figures adorned in vibrant, parrot-inspired costumes. The figures exude a conspiratorial charisma, commanding attention with their playful yet enigmatic presence. While mimicking the stances of superheroes, their concealed identities add an air of tension, prompting viewers to ponder the question: who are they?
 
Ford's multifarious practice combines playful craftsmanship with acute social commentary. ‘Little Lords’ provides an immersive experience, where visitors can engage with the sculptures' intricate details and delve into the artist's exploration of identity, fantasy, and the human condition.
 
Ford's significant contributions to the art world are reflected in her inclusion in prestigious public collections, including Tate, The Victoria and Albert Museum, and the Government Art Collection. Laura Ford has represented Wales in the Venice Biennale and has exhibited in solo and group shows around the world.
Visit the Online Viewing Room here:
https://www.liminal-gallery.com/laura-ford-little-lords
Contact us for all questions and enquiries: info@liminal-gallery.com
Follow us on Instagram: @liminal_gallery

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Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Maud Whatley to coincide with her first solo exhibition 'Haunches' in our Main Space at Liminal Gallery in Margate. The exhibition showcases Whatley's coloured pencil drawings which layer images sourced from art-historical paintings, online archives, personal photographs, and Google image results. Her work explores the politics of observation, the eroticism born from juxtaposing disparate ideas, and the alluring, unconventional nature of repetitive drawing techniques.
 
In ‘Haunches’ Whatley looks at the intricate relationship between human perception and the dissection of animal bodies, drawing inspiration from historical events such as the untimely demise of champion racehorse Phar Lap in 1932. The pictures explore symbolic and literal acts of dissecting, separating, and categorising; paralleling the way that Phar Lap's body parts were archived across various museums. Through evocative storytelling, Whatley connects these narratives to the way we compartmentalise and box up the aspects of ourselves and our experiences which we consider too gross, too animalistic, or too much.
 
Experimenting with diverse references, including the Sumerian poem ‘Gilgamesh and the Bull of Heaven’ and the insights of philosopher Slavoj Žižek, Whatley presents ideas about the interplay between our curated public personas and the leaking truths that linger beneath the surface. Weaving themes of erotic potential, mythic allure and the interconnectedness of all things through her drawings, her works present a gentle case for revelling in the complex strangeness of the human experience.
Visit the Online Viewing Room here:
https://www.liminal-gallery.com/maud-whatley-haunches
Contact us for all questions and enquiries: info@liminal-gallery.com
Follow us on Instagram: @liminal_gallery
With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

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Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Mercedes Workman to coincide with 'Turner's Female Contemporaries' a solo exhibition in our second exhibition space, The Cupboard at Liminal Gallery in Margate. The exhibition brings to light the forgotten, yet remarkably talented women artists of the past.
 
‘Turner's Female Contemporaries’ presents a meticulously crafted and entirely tiled space, unveiling the faces of female artists who have long been overlooked by history, each of whom were creating their own work during J. M. W. Turner’s lifetime. Mercedes Workman's installation serves as a poignant reminder of the many talented women artists who have, for the most part, been denied the recognition they rightfully deserved. This exhibition shines a much-needed spotlight on their remarkable contributions to the art world and seeks to rectify the historical omission.
 
The Cupboard is Liminal Gallery’s second exhibition space, tiny but sleek it is exclusively available to artists living and working in Thanet. Workman will transform it into a shrine-like space, with individual ceramic tiles, each handmade with the warp and weft reminding us of the artist's hand. The faces of these forgotten women artists expressed through vigorous brushwork and meticulous mark-making pouring life and energy into their portraits.
Mercedes Workman’s work is a response to her overactive mind; she works both fast and determinedly. Reoccurring themes include relationships and interactions, perceptions, judgements, idiosyncrasies and cliches, particularly around womanhood, motherhood and identity.
Her practice centres around her passion for ceramics combined with drawing from life and illustrative work expressed in vigorous brush work and mark making. ‘I hope to create something familiar and comforting, with an energy that’s easy to live with,’ says the artist.

Workman recently had a solo exhibition ‘ABC of Me’ at TKE Studios, where she is also a Studio Holder, as well as 'Small is Beautiful' a recent group exhibition at Flowers Gallery in Cork Street, London.

Mercedes Workman lives and works in Margate, Kent.
Read the full press release here:
https://www.liminal-gallery.com/turners-female-contemporaries
Contact us for all questions and enquiries: info@liminal-gallery.com
Follow us on Instagram: @liminal_gallery
With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.


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Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Eleanor McCaughey to coincide with 'Swallowing Mist to Lick Your Mouth' a solo exhibition in our Main Space at Liminal Gallery in Margate.
 
‘Swallowing Mist to Lick Your Mouth’ is the first UK solo show by Dublin based artist Eleanor McCaughey. This immersive solo exhibition delves into the complex terrain of female identity, presenting the artist's multifarious practice including installation, paintings, sculptures, and a sound collaboration with Irish sound artists Bosca Nua, offering an exploration into the history, politics, and societal constructs of the female body and identity.
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McCaughey’s work has evolved into a multi-layered narrative that intertwines theological and humanistic notions. After personally navigating through challenging years of recovery from unsuccessful surgeries related to endometriosis and infertility, the artist’s work metamorphosed into a study of the historical and political landscape encircling the female form. 
 
“My work is physical, tactile, and handmade with importance on its shifting materiality. Both my painting and sculpture reveal traces of the body, performance, and healing activity through brush stroke, mark-making, and moulding. It is important to me that these qualities lend a semiotic dimension to the work, emitting a certain presence when the author isn't in the room.”
 
‘Swallowing Mist to Lick Your Mouth’ was created during a residency at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre in Monaghan, Ireland, and is a visceral and emotional response to the land. 
Eleanor McCaugheys practice is an evolution of multi-faceted installations, including painting, sculpture, video and sound. There is an important focus on material properties, capturing an earth-bound quality to the work.
The work is developed with an interest in readings of religion and the function & structures of faith. Centering on the idea that faith offers the thought that one might be able to transcend the limitations of physical and how agents of faith act as a channel for petition.
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McCaughey often works in collaboration with artists to help create soundscapes for video works and installations. The approach to collaboration and the making of physical environments, is an answer to the translation of restorative experience into sound, space & form.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, McCaughey studied at TU, Dublin. Selected exhibitions include Woman in the machine, Visual Carlow, 2021, Super Market Art Fair, Stockholm, 2021, What remains of this place?, online exhibtion, 2020, Vignettes, Richard Heller Gallery, LA USA, 2019 and Tulca ,Sytonic State, Galway, 2018.
Eleanor McCaughey is a recipient of the Irish Arts Council Bursary Award 2021, The Temple Bar Project Award  2021, The Fingal County Council Bursary 2019  and the Next Generation Award 2018. Her work is represented in the OPW, Arts Council Ireland art collection and private collections in Ireland, Europe, United States and Canada.
Read the full press release here:
www.liminal-gallery.com/swallowing-mist-to-lick-your-mouth
Contact us for all questions and enquiries: info@liminal-gallery.com
Follow us on Instagram: @liminal_gallery
With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

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Liminal Gallery Podcast host, Louise Fitzjohn, speaks with contemporary artist Julia Ellen Lancaster to coincide with 'Deadly Bloom' a solo exhibition in our Main Space at Liminal Gallery in Margate.
 
Julia Ellen Lancaster's work delves deep into the relationship between humans and the landscape and encourages us to embrace the beauty of difference. 'Deadly Bloom' showcases Lancaster's innovative approach to ceramics, where she experiments with different clay bodies and complex glazing techniques, and employs her signature practice of digging clay from her local area in Thanet. A celebrated ceramic artist known for her distinctive exploration of primitive and otherworldly organisms, Lancaster repurposes previous ceramic experiments, adding layers of complexity to her creations. This intuitive and playful process is fundamentally linked to exploration and making. 
Throughout her process, Lancaster frees her mind from constraints of harmony or correctness, allowing her to create without inhibition. This approach enables her to respond intuitively to the work as it evolves, taking unexpected turns and often resulting in a complete departure from the original concept. This evolution is not only an artistic journey but a reflection of the changes that occur in life, with each piece an expression of this human experience. 
One of the defining aspects of Lancaster's artistic practice is her allegiance to the Japanese concept of ‘mottainai’, the avoidance of waste. By incorporating salvaged detritus, fragments, and materials rejected from previous projects, she not only eliminates waste but also adds layers of history and embedded time to her creations. Her works, whether fired to extreme heat or left unfired, challenge us to find beauty in the different, the unrecognisable, and the impermanent. 
‘Deadly Bloom’ includes a wall piece that acts as a ‘living sculpture’, whereby the colourant used will naturally change and fade over time. It mimics the deterioration induced by human intervention and the eventual demise of fading beauty, with death being the only certainty in life.
Lancaster's sculptures serve as bridges between ancient geological materials and contemporary expression, offering viewers a unique perspective on the interconnectedness of humans and the environment. 
Read the full press release here:
https://www.liminal-gallery.com/deadly-bloom
Contact us for all questions and enquiries: info@liminal-gallery.com
Follow us on Instagram: @liminal_gallery
With original music by Lorenzo Bonari.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.