PPP Creative Report OUGD502: Alexandra Gray
I met Benjamin Murphy briefly during my time at Richmond College, I was at the Other Art Fair with my friend and fell in love with his work, studying his work during A level as well as a quick study I did last year for my Object brief, I chose tape, inspired by my favourite contemporary artist.
I had followed him on Facebook and Instagram for years but never had any courage to contact him further. This creative report gave the drive to talk to him, I had initially planned to meet him as he was conveniently visiting Leeds, however this was when the snow came and disrupted trains to the point he never visited. I had dialogue with him over Facebook however and emailed him over my questions.
Turns out he also went to this uni or "Leeds College of Art" which I never knew, giving this connection even more value as it was important for me to find out wether the opportunities were greater in London as people assume.
When did you realise using tape was to be your forte?
I never really decided it, and I wasn’t looking for something unusual when I found it. I did it once whilst I was doing my MA at the University of Salford on a friends bedroom wall after a few drinks (it was his idea actually), and it just stuck with me – pun not intended. I did a few more and didn’t really think anything of it, and then moved to London on a whim once I’d finished.
How was your expierence of finding your feet after leaving Leeds College Of Art?
As soon as I got here I started working in a gallery and immersing myself in the art scene. I happened to meet two girls who were curating a charity exhibition for Anti-Slavery International and they asked me to donate a piece. I did so and then they also asked me if I could think of any way of getting the event a bit of press, perhaps by doing a big artwork somewhere. I’d had my eye on this twelve-story building with windows all up one side for a while, and I proposed doing a huge tapedrawing all the way up it. After a lot of meetings with the building and risk assessments, I finally got to do it. This got the show and the charity, and by proxy myself, a lot of press, and kick-started my career in a way. It was in The Guardian and The Independent etc, and this got me invited to be in a few more shows. My first ever solo show was a couple of months later. The charity show was priced and auctioned by a Sotheby’s auctioneer, so it was a real help for me to know what to price my works at for my solo show.
Do you find there are more creative opportunities in London than Leeds?
There are definitely more opportunities in London than Leeds. I think as well as this it’s the networking that you’d miss out on in Leeds. It really is about ‘who you know’, and one of the best things for finding opportunities is meeting people at private views and the like. A lot of the ‘networking’ that goes on is just bumping into someone you met at a show once and saying hello. Popping by someone’s studio or gallery is also invaluable, and not something you can do if you’re not at the heart of it.
How easy is it curating exhibitions and collaborating with other artists (such as in the case of Morella, which I found fascinating especially how you had to switch medium)?
Collaborating is interesting but it doesn’t always work out. I do it more to test myself and force myself out of my comfort zone more than anything. I think sometimes what a collaboration produces can be more than the sum of it’s parts, but it often doesn’t work out like that. Morella was one of the cases where I felt it worked luckily. Curating shows is great and I’d recommend that all artists do so. It is great to learn what happens on the gallery side of things, and it also helps you to see your own work from a curatorial standpoint.
How important do you feel is artistic integrity?
Artistic integrity is everything. When an artist does something purely for the money, or when their heart clearly isn’t in it, people can tell.
