POSSESSION
Julie Derbyshire
15 May – 2 June 2019
Artist’s Talk on Saturday 18 May 2.30 pm. The artist will be in conversation with Dr Sally Lee of the Faculty of Health and Social Science at Bournemouth University to discuss the exhibition and the impact of scamming and the elderly.
Possession is a solo show from photographic artist, Julie Derbyshire, introducing a new body of work that engages with the devastating impact of scamming.
Julie’s practice is inspired by the objects and materials around her. Where we encounter shape and form, Julie discerns fragility and transience. The narratives and historical sources that inform her practice are mirrored in the way she employs the mediums of photography and sculpture as both research tool and process, culminating in the creation of her work. Julie approaches photography as an instrument of illusion rather than documentation, as a means by which to express ideas. The same is true of her engagement with sculpture using ‘making’ to visually convey thoughts through form. By introducing materials, processes and dimensionality, she creates work that plays with object and photographic trace. Her work acts as an ongoing reflection upon the multiple layers and disruptions of time and humanity.
Julie’s new body of work, Possession, engages with the increasingly damaging social issue of scamming, particularly as it touches vulnerable elderly individuals, and the impact it has upon countless families from all walks of life. The behaviour of victims who succumb to scamming is typically characterised by excessive spending, often beyond their means, and a secretive obsession with the purchase and hoarding of items (possession rather than useful function). It is often motivated by false promises of friendship and future wealth through manipulation and insidiousness. The process of communication, ordering and receipt of objects becomes an addiction. Those who become embroiled are invariably vulnerable and often newly socially isolated. Julie’s work comprises photographic and handmade sculptural elements and draws upon personal family experience and objects.
Julie holds a BA Photography (1st Class) from the University of Westminster and an MA Photography (Distinction) from the London College of Communication. Julie has exhibited in the UK and abroad and her work is held in private collections. She was a finalist in the Travers Smith Art Awards (2015) and the Arte Laguna Prize Venice (2016), and was awarded the Photofusion Prize (2017). She has received a number of honourable mentions including the PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris, the Moscow International Foto Awards and the Tokyo International Foto Awards. She was recently nominated for the RPS 100 Heroines Awards. She lives and works in London.
