Loose Environments exhibition showcases new work by five Leeds-based artists
A new exhibition featuring work by Michelle Duxbury, Oliver Getley, Maja Novak, Connor Shields and Kate Stockwell has opened in our Project Space.
Loose Environments brings together the work of five artists, created during their AA2A residency at the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies during the 2023/24 academic year.
The exhibition showcases their diverse sculptural practices, and includes installation, sound and video work alongside more traditional mediums as clay and wax.
Loose Environments exhibition in Project Space at the University of Leeds showing: Vicarious Meandering (2024) by Michelle Duxbury; Mollock (2024) and Sandbag(1) (2024) by Connor Shields. Photo: Fiona Blair.
AA2A is a transformative programme that fosters collaboration between further and higher education institutions and artists while supporting students as they transition from study to employment in the arts.
Universities and colleges host up to six artists for one academic year, allowing artists the opportunity to use facilities and resources they may otherwise not be able to access. This mutually beneficial relationship enriches the academic environment, provides valuable experiences for students, and helps artists to develop their creative practice.
Following a competitive selection process, artists Michelle Duxbury, Oliver Getley, Maja Novak, Connor Shields and Kate Stockwell took up AA2A residencies in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds in October 2023.
Kate Stockwell, Menopause Bodies Prints (2024). Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
For three of the five artists in residency – Getley, Shields and Stockwell – taking part in the scheme meant returning to their alma mater, having all completed fine art degrees at BA or MA level at the University of Leeds.
Duxbury also studied at the university, graduating with an MA Sociology in 1996. She is now undertaking a PhD by Practice in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies.
For Novak, this was a new interaction with the University of Leeds and an opportunity to further develop her practice after completing an MA at Leeds Arts University.
Coordinated by Dr Anna Douglas (Lecturer in Fine Art), the AA2A residencies hosted by the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies gave all five artists the opportunity to undertake a period of research or realise a project using the school’s workshop and supporting facilities.
Undergraduate fine art students benefited from the experience and insights of the practicing artists over the course of their residencies, through workshops, practical sessions and Visiting Artists Talks.
Loose Environments exhibition in Project Space at the University of Leeds, 26 September to 6 October 2024. Image shows works by Oliver Getley and Maja Novak. Photo by Hannah Guy.
Loose Environments opened with an evening private view on Wednesday 25 September, attended by students and staff from the school in addition to invited guests. The event and exhibition was documented by photographer and recent BA Fine Art graduate Hannah Guy.
Running to 6 October, the show will give an insight into the work created by all five artists as part of their residencies – and will offer further opportunities for visitors to engage with the artists.
Loose Environments exhibition publicity materials. Photo by Hannah Guy.
Michelle Duxbury‘s practice draws on various creative and academic disciplines working across various media including, but not limited to, embroidery, moving image, sound and immersive installation work. They often combine multiple sensory experiences, embedded with accessibility, allowing her to interrogate the in/accessibility created by traditional hierarchies in visual art.
Her work considers the intrinsic link between landscape, body and identity, in individual and collective connection to landscape, and how this impacts on feelings of belonging/not belonging – drawing on her experiences as a disabled, neurodivergent woman from a working-class background.
Michelle’s work was recently selected for Found Cities, Lost Objects, an Arts Council Collection touring exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery, curated by Turner Prize-winning artist and cultural activist Lubaina Himid CBE.
Michelle Duxbury, Vicarious Meandering, 2024. Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds. Photo by Hannah Guy.
Michelle said:
“It was an absolute privilege to have the opportunity and support to experiment with my work a bit more during my AA2A residency in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies. I am very excited to continue exploring this work, having started a PhD by Practice there this term.
“Vicarious Meanderings is an experimental work exploring in/access to the rural landscape. The split screen work is filmed from two perspectives.
Detail from Michelle Duxbury's Vicarious Meandering installation at the Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
“The artist, unable to get past a stile into the field, remains at the bottom of the hill documenting the passing of time one repetitive cross stitch at a time. Their intrepid companion walks the trail around Almscliffe Crag, a Millstone Grit outcrop at the top of a small hill, popular with local walkers and climbers.
“Vicarious Meandering is presented in this exhibition as a multi-screen monitor installation, with an accompanying soundscape situated in an accompanying wheelchair.”
Michelle Duxbury, Vicarious Meandering (2024). Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
BA Fine Art alumni Oliver Getley is an interdisciplinary artist based in Leeds, UK. His practice is concept and research driven, often working project-to-project to explore experimental and emergent creative approaches which span a variety of production methods, including; sculpture, sound, performativity, moving-image and exhibition-making.
Getley is interested in artist-led and DIY activity as a political approach to culture-making and the development of alternative learning methods. A recurrent interest of his work has been the development of sculptural encounters through the reverse engineering of object and site. Recent work has involved the creation of kinetic sculpture and sound devices through mapping and self-built circuitry.
Work by Oliver Getley at the Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
Oliver said:
“Over the past year, I have been exploring improvisational and formal sculptural processes in found material. These processes have explored ideas around the construction of literary and non-literary language, narrativisation and technological imaginaries. The sculptures I have arranged in this exhibition include a van door, car panel, LEDs, glass and pirate discs.”
Work by Oliver Getley, Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
Maja Novak is a contemporary artist whose multifaceted practice spans sculpture, ceramics, and installation, reflecting a deep engagement with the interconnections of landscape, ecology, wellbeing and the human experience.
Using clay as a medium for philosophical enquiry into the nature of matter, she kneads and stretches materials to the limit, exposing questions of function, (dis)order, containing, grasping, expansion, contraction, emptiness, breathing and being human.
At the heart of her work is a commitment to experimentation, natural body expression and community building. By integrating found natural materials and vegetation with common art materials, she highlights the primal qualities of creation while embedding and honouring the process itself, with a sense of care and grounding. Her sculptures, often hybrid and ephemeral, reflect the changing dynamics of ecosystems and serve as objects of contemplation on human interaction with nature.
Maja Novak, Tired (2024). Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
Maja said of the residency:
“Following completion of an MA in Fine Art, I noticed that a wide variety of creative spaces helps my practice to grow and expand in new ways. I was interested to see how my work and perspectives would shape through the residency in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies.
“It was a great way to stay engaged in an academic environment while working as a practicing artist. I had a wonderful time working with students and professionals while having an opportunity to use university facilities to develop research and a new body of work.
Maja Novak, Tired (2024). Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
“The AA2A residency for me was a valuable opportunity that helped me to see parts of my work in a new way. It was often challenging to combine work as a self-employed artist and committing time to research and practice development, but this often is the way artists need to operate to stay engaged in their field and pushing the boundaries of their work. It was great to engage with students, researchers and other professionals and share my knowledge while simultaneously growing and developing myself.
“Also, seeing students growing and evolving alongside with your help is just priceless and enriches my work. I think these sort of opportunities that connect working class creatives with academic environments are really valuable for creating bridges between academia and community, establishing long term connections and collaborations.”
Maja Novak, Tired (2024). Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
Connor Shields is another alumni of the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies, having graduated with an MA Fine Art in 2023. Shields’ practice is predominantly sculptural, taking influence from construction and demolition sites, and spaces which possess a ‘masculine’ subtext. These environments often act as ‘in-between’ spaces; sites undergoing transformation. The outcome of these sites is not of interest, but rather the interesting visual dynamics and unusual material combinations that occur through the process of constructing.
Connor Shields, Mollock (2024). Steel rebar, concrete. Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
Connor said:
“I am interested in the way objects are leaned, stacked, slumped and bound. Sandbags are a feature in my current works, used throughout construction as a cheap and practical solution to weigh things down. They are often discarded, or left behind. They punctuate the city, yet often go unnoticed; part of our everyday surroundings.
“Through the process of casting, I recreate these objects in new, solidified materials. There is a play between what is real and what is not, whether that be explicit and obvious, or more subtle.”
Connor Shields, Sandbag (I), 2024. Plaster, rubber. Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
Kate Stockwell is a Leeds based artist who studied Fine Art at the University of Leeds, graduating in 1986. She has a background in the museum service which informs her practice. She makes art objects inspired by museum objects containing alternative or additional meaning. The work draws on the concepts of wonder and the uncanny.
Stockwell use wax as the medium to make a material connection with anatomical waxes, in particular ‘the anatomical Venus’ – dissectible life size wax models created for the study of anatomy, first created by Clemente Susini in 1789. For the exhibition, Stockwell uses a string of pearls, silk pillow and wax to reference, explore and deconstruct the anatomical Venus.
Kate Stockwell, The Anatomical Venus (2024). Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
Kate said:
“The use of medical collections is a means of addressing issues around women’s health. In medical discourse the human body is taken by default to be the male body – when represented at all, the female body is nearly always shown as pregnant.
“It is argued that this historic absence and misrepresentation of women within medical discourse continues to this day, adversely affecting the care and treatments women get. My work tries to redress this by focusing on women's health issues such as menopause.
“As part of my residency at the university, I ran a two-day workshop looking at alternative ways of representing the body. This included an introductory talk, a museum visit and a practical session working with wax. I really enjoyed spending this time with the students. It has been great to be around such interested, interesting and creative young people.”
Wax sculptures by Kate Stockwell. Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, University of Leeds, 2024. Photo by Hannah Guy.
More information
Loose Environments runs from 26 September to 6 October at Project Space in the School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies at the University of Leeds. The exhibition is free and is open Thursday to Sunday, 12 to 4pm.
Find out more about the Loose Environments exhibition and the artists taking part.
Feature image
Gallery view of section of Loose Environments exhibition, Project Space, School of Fine Art, History of Art and Cultural Studies. Image shows work by Kate Stockwell, Oliver Getley, Maja Novak and Connor Shields. Photo by Hannah Guy.
