Somewhere in between is a collective of six artists who are all MA graduates from UAL Camberwell and their work crosses several imaging disciplines including printmaking; film and photography. They are a close knit group of like-minded people who regularly share their work on and offline. We turn the spotlight on them this week to discuss the collective and its developing practice.
Somewhere in Between is a collective of six female artists, can you tell us a bit about how you came together and what your goals are as a group? And… where did the name come from?
We came together as we were all studying MA Printmaking at Camberwell UAL. We are actually from two different year groups but were introduced to each other’s work during group crits and in the workshops. Printmaking workshops are very social spaces, artists often talk about how and why they make their work whilst making it. We really admired each other’s work and were somewhat outsiders compared to many students who work with painting and drawing as the foundations for their practice. We were drawn to each other through the lens of photography.
As we were graduating during the pandemic our goal really was to support each other. The workshops closed due to Covid and we were unable to have our final shows. We wanted to carry on and explore our connections and conversations around photography and printmaking.
Our name came out of many discussions around our practice, the context within where we saw ourselves. Our practice really does fall between and utilise both photography and printmaking.
The collective is very much rooted in printmaking; film and immersive space – as a lab we have tried to maintain access to our services but for many the pandemic has restricted access to production facilities and in turn our ability to exhibit – how have you utilised online platforms to stay engaged with your audience at this time?
We really embrace online and social media spaces. Printmaking is about distribution and creating images that can be reproduced and seen by many. We see online platforms as a way of distributing our work, getting it out into the world. Art works can now travel internationally with online platforms which in turn can lead to dialogues with artists globally. In the absence of a degree show we are thinking of other ways to share our work. During the launch of the online UAL showcase we hosted a talk and discussed our practice. We then started our online Instagram platform @_somewhere_in_between where we have shown our work we show and engage with work by other artists working with photography and print.
Historically gender inequality in lens-based industries has prevailed for far too long, and we all have a responsibility to recognise, act and bring about change. Of course, our own experiences are personal to us, would you be able to tell us about what it means to you and the collective?
We came together because of our interest in each other’s work rather than consciously making the collective women only. The students on the course at Camberwell are around 90% female and we were a small group who were working with photography as the foundation of our work. The technicians in the print studios were incredibly supportive and have a real ‘can do’ attitude. Printmaking can be incredibly physical, and processes can be complicated and sometimes use very toxic materials. We never felt that gender was ever an issue whilst practically making the work – anything was possible.
You currently have six members in the collective, do you see this growing as you establish or do you intend operating at this size? Also are there any collaboration opportunities within the group or do you act individually on projects and then come together to share and critique?
Having six members in the group is the perfect size as it enables us to meet up frequently. Some of us had been in collectives before and understood that more than six can be problematic with scheduling meetings/having crits. We are very open to collaborating with each other and other artists. We are individual artists who all have established art practices – we are focused and take our work very seriously. We are a small community who are there to support and listen to each other, to give both practical and theoretical advice. As a group we are very open to new ideas and feedback from each other.
It goes without saying that 2020 has been one hell of a year and we have all been touched by the pandemic. Creatives are known for their ability to remain fluid and adapt to circumstances – what are the biggest changes you would like to see happen in our industry in 2021 and what does next year hold for the collective?
We are excited about the future and looking forward to thinking of different ways to share our work. We believe that traditional gallery spaces are only just one way of showing work. We would like to experiment with projections and billboards, with Instagram residencies and online/offline talks. Next year we will be hosting more online talks- the first will be with artist Sofia Sacomani, alumni of MA Printmaking Camberwell who is an incredibly exciting artist.
We would like to see the industry opening up to new ways of presenting art works both online and offline. We would like to engage with a larger audience than just the London art world.
As a group of six new graduates, we believe we are stronger together.
The six artists in the collective are Pippa Healy @pippahello , Rosie Zielinski @rosiezielinskiart , Zoe Prichard @zoeprichardprint , Tabby
Cooper @_tirc_ , B.E, Varga @elizboglarkvarga , Lauren Collier @laurencollierprint
@_somewhere_in_between
