Liz West

Yesterday, Liz West visited Uni and gave a presentation during one of our lectures. We have a guest speaker most Wednesday's but this one was definitely my favourite.

Liz is currently exhibiting her work at

1. Canary Wharf, London
2. Broadgate, London
3. Leeds college of art, Leeds
4. The Met theatre, Bury.

I would really like to visit at least one of her exhibitions. I will definitely be going to see her show at Leeds College of Art. I really liked the photographs of her 'colour wheel alumni exhibition' which is open until 27th January as part of the college's 170th birthday celebrations.

Liz creates vivid environments that mix luminous colour with light. She works in a variety of media and she aims to provoke a heightened sensory awareness in the viewer through her works. I really liked how she is interested in exploring how sensory phenomena can invoke psychological and physical responses, tapping into the relationships we may have with colour.

West's investigation into the relationship between colour and light is often realised through an engagement between materiality and a given site. West uses light as a material that radiates outside of its boundaries and containers in large and open spaces (like old co-op buildings, churches and the streets of Manchester). She playfully refracts light through using translucent, transparent or reflective materials, directing the flow of artificial and natural light.

Our understanding of colour can only be realised through the presence of light. By playing and adjusting colour, West brings out the intensity and composition of her spatial arrangements.

Installations
Seven fold, Autumn lights, Our colour, Our spectral vision, Our colour reflection, Your colour perception, Through no. 3, An additive mix, Through No. 1, Solstice ritual, Complimentary afterimage, Shifting Luminosity, Vanishing boundaries, Tempo, an additive mixture, Difference is important, Chamber series.

Her 'Our colour' installation was one of my favourites, I love how all the colour and pigment runs into each other. I wondered if my feelings / emotions would change as I passed through a certain colour? I like how the walls, ceiling and floor are shiny, smooth and light in colour. I assume that if the room has carpet the coloured light would be absorbed and the piece wouldn't be so effective. Liz stated that this room was used by a wide variety of people including skateboarders and people meditating.

Drawings
Equal amounts of blue, Restricted juxtaposition, Subjective mixtures, Consumed.

I honestly loved all of Liz's work and it has inspired me a lot - especially as I love working with bright vivid colours myself. Although it would be quite hard for me to work effectively with 'light and space' at the moment, she has still given me some very good ideas which ill be working on throughout my current projects - crash sites, art/activism and drawing transformations.

I found it extremely interesting and a little emotional listening to her talk about personal, sensitive subjects.

Its always great to hear about the journey of a practicing artist - it gives me hope for the future!

Here are some images of Liz West's work.

Question Time!

Q: How old were you when you realised you wanted to be an artist?
A: "I think I was about 18. I never really knew what I wanted to do in the future until I did art at A-level. Iv always loved sketching and painting but I think just saw this as a hobby until I did the art foundation course. That's when it got serious."

Q: What do you like to draw?
A: "To be honest, I don't really enjoy drawing. I mean, I do like it but I prefer working with other materials like paint, tape and on a much larger scale. I always used to think art was just about drawing, but I found it quite hard to sit down and produce good work with just pencils or pens."

Q: Was art your favourite subject at school? If so, why?
A: "In school my favourite subject was definitely art but I also loved geography. I wasn't very academic and found written exams quite hard. Along with PE, art was a nice break from the rest of my time table. Although there was ALOT of work to do, I didn't mind as much because I enjoyed doing it."

Q: Would you recommend art at college/university?
A: "Yes, I would. For me, the art foundation course at college helped loads. It was there I really started to develop as an artist / figure out my own style of work. University allows me to be more independent and although there are loads of routes you can take, I'm glad I picked University."

Q: How is university going?
A: "Uni is going well. We've just received grades and feedback from some assignments we submitted before Christmas. I got 71.00 and 75.00 (which probably doesn't mean anything to you) but these were my first pieces of written work and I'm very proud of my marks. I hope to improve on them in the future."

Q: Do you have any advice for students applying for an art course next year?
A: "Don't be scared. Its natural to be nervous at first but your confidence, creativity and skills will improve throughout the year. I think it's important to find an audience for your work, so people can connect with it - this will come naturally over time and its nothing to worry about. Also, just keep at it and be persistent. Consistency is key!"

Q: Who are your favourite artists?
A: "Iv looked at hundreds of artists over the past few years. At the moment my favourite artists are Sol Lewitt, Teesha Moor and Martin Creed. Different artists are introduced to me on a daily basis and I love researching and developing ideas, using artists as inspiration."

Q: Who has inspired you?
A: "A lot of artists have inspired me over the years but mainly my tutors and my GSCE teacher."

Q: Do you definitely want to be an art teacher?
A: "I've always wanted to be a teacher since I was about 8 years old. I thought I wanted to be a primary school teacher or a PE teacher because I loved football. I would definitely like to be a teacher of art in the future but I'd also like to be able to produce and sell my own artwork. That would be cool."

Q: What do you do in your spare time?
A: "When I'm not at Uni, I'm often doing art work at home or in the library. I work on Saturdays and Sundays but in my spare time I like to go shopping."

Q: What is your favourite colour?
A: "I like red, pink and light blue but my favourite colour would have to be purple."

Q: How was the transition from college to Uni?
A: "The transition was much easier than I thought it would be. I think I was well prepared for Uni after completing my final piece at college. I knew exactly what to expect and what was expected of me. I think the University open days and workshops also helped."

Q: Do you enjoy living out for Uni? Is it a good experience?
A: "I do enjoy living out and I have enjoyed meeting new friends. I like the fact that my halls are in walking distance from the campus and I feel like Iv settled in well but I also like that I'm not too far away from home and I can go back whenever I want."

Q: Do you enjoy your course?
A: "Yes, I definitely like my course. Even though I'm only timetabled in 3 days a week, I find myself working on my project briefs for 5 or 6 days a week. All the tutors are a massive help, suggest really good ideas and are open to any questions I may have."

Q: In terms of art, do you have a favourite quote?
A: ''Art it not what you see, but what you make others see.''

Q: What music do you listen to and does it influence your work?
A: "At the moment I'm listening to Arctic Monkeys, Little Mix, Ed Sheeran and Robbie Williams. In fact, I got Robbie tickets for Christmas and I can not wait! In school, music influenced my work loads because I liked to include lyrics... it doesn't really influence my work so much now, but when I'm working I like to listen to the charts. I like all types of music."