RFSA bursary recipients share their stories of how the bursary has impacted them in their life and studies.
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Phoebe Leech
Year 2 - BA Fine Art City & Guilds of London Art School Over the course of this academic year, I have grown to work independently and engage fully with my own practice. I have managed to achieve a good balance between working remotely and attending college, due to my long Covid hindrances. Whilst keeping positive and creating art at my own pace, I have been able to produce some of my best work to date, and without the support from the RFSA Foundation, I would have had no way of supporting myself and my studies over the past two years. This second year of university has been about finding my voice and searching for what my mind is intuitively engaged with. All of our assignments have been self-directed, and through the help and guidance of my tutors, I was able to constantly reflect on my own work and build this deeper connection with my subject matter. |
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Second Year - Works on Paper (1st project)
This project was all about visual mind mapping—collecting information through the production of making, to find what we are truly interested in. The assignment wasn’t about rendering finished pieces of work; it was more about travelling through a creative investigative journey. The series of 6 to 8 drawings had to be produced on A5 pieces of paper, and through the freedom of play, we were able to let our minds run free and allow our subconscious decisions to take over our designs.
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Second Year - Self Directed (2nd project)
This work resembles an experimental journey through my art practice. It is a way for my mind to explore the contours and shapely qualities of the human body. I purposefully chose to work incredibly quickly when constructing these small painting studies, letting go of the constraints that push me towards wanting to construct an accurate and highly representational human figure. I wanted to focus more on capturing the essence of the human body and the energetic movement it possesses, which will hopefully echo throughout my later pieces and inform my own methods of painting.
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Second Year - Collages (3rd project)
This work was intended to describe the subtle abstraction of figurative forms. It is meant to visually convey an experiment on the relationship between close-up sections of the body and man-made conceptual shapes. It is an imaginative conversation with the subject and the environment, allowing the mind to journey through a framework of personal intimacy expressed as complex forms. Overall, this series introduces a mix of themes, but it primarily serves as a way for me to develop my main ideas and inform my future paintings. I see it as a sketchbook—a learning process that I can reflect on every day and use as fuel to justify the next stage of my work. These collages also explore a variety of colour palettes, which will be studied further throughout my painting practice, expanding my knowledge of colour theory.
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Second Year - Small Paintings (4th project)
This experimental series was something I worked on prior to my final paintings. The work combines the sharp, overlaying quality of collage with the natural, autonomous quality of human instinct. The series explores the relationship between artificial colours and the natural tones found within human flesh. The childlike, spontaneous element is juxtaposed against the controlled application of thick, vibrant paint. I wanted this process to capture the essence of the body in its absence, and by combining this with the vision of landscapes, I was able to create a range of harmonious abstract paintings. I wanted to communicate the relationship between body and landscape through the layering of paint. I aimed to represent my own experimentation with the concept of capturing a hovering subject that could later be expressed in the form of an actual human figure. The work is intended to communicate the power of gestural brushstrokes and the benefits of working with intuition, which I call instinctive play.
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Second Year - Adult + Child (Final project)
This work provokes ideas on sexualisation and contemporary beauty standards. It also touches on the global realisations surrounding intimate romantic relationships and childhood trauma. I aim to expose what is hidden beneath the surface, building layers upon layers of visual and emotional complexity. I am constantly investigating the art of abstracted figuration, seeing how I can meticulously construct dreamlike scenarios to effectively connect the movement of paint and the absence of identity to reveal the unconscious mind. Through the use of children’s drawings and authentic gestures, my work subtly conveys an inappropriate message and a hidden tension. To connect with my audience I conceal my subjects’ identities, so that the figures are represented in a global sense. Through the use of pleasing colours and subtle palettes, what I create is supposed to give off this comforting vibe, which alludes to the fact that there is a disguised darkness within the meaning.
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