Sydney Southam

Hackney Wick is beautiful. A demolished building, an empty lot, a broken bottle…these things are beautiful, and these things are Hackney Wick. This is an area that seems to be in a constant cycle of decay and renewal. Warehouses that once manufactured goods now stand empty and useless. Yet, other abandoned spaces are now homes to artists or galleries. Where something was destroyed, something new is created. The new Olympic site arises out of an abandoned and derelict stadium. A piece of rubbish is indicative of what was once there and what is yet to come. The artistic instinct is to create something out of nothing, to transform. This is what Hackney Wick stands for. I will draw attention to the beauty of the mundane. I will make a beautifully shot and romantic 16mm film about a piece of rubbish and a decaying building. I want to draw attention to the poignancy of these images; they are images of death and destruction, yet they also imply a change that has yet to occur. I will also be collaborating on a video and sound piece with artist Ella Tetrault, who is based in Halifax Nova Scotia and Los Angeles California. We will respond to the notion of decay and rebirth within a geographical area, each of us responding to our respective areas. We will be sending audio and video clips back and forth online, while our project begins to take shape over the next few months, culminating in a film at the Hackney Wicked festival.

Education:

2008 – 2011 Central Saint Martins, BA Fine Art

2006 – 2008 Toronto School of Art

2005 Parsons School of Design, Intensive Photography Summer Program

2003 – 2006 University of Toronto, BA Major in English Literature, Minors in Philosophy and Cinema Studies

2002 – 2003 Ryerson University, Radio and Television Arts

Exhibitions:

2010: The Crypt Gallery St. Pancras, London UK, Atmosphere in the Spectrum Group Exhibition Blasfemia’s, Group Exhibition, Barcelona Plato Pamplona Dublin Exchange, Group Exhibition, Dublin

2009: East Gallery, London UK, Go Home Group Exhibition Elevator Gallery, London UK, Tales that Witness Madness Group exhibition Elevator Gallery, London UK, Zero de Conduite Group Exhibition Glastonbury Festival, Tin Village Green Futures Fields Tress and Honey Bees, Sunflower Installation in Hampstead Heath Cat Possessed, Group Exhibition, 9 Great Chapel Street, London UK Central Saint Martins Stage 1 Final Year Show, Trinity Buoy Wharf, London Central Saint Martins BA Fine Art Showcase, London UK, March Whippersnapper Gallery Winter Showcase, Toronto Canada

2008: Awol Gallery, Square Foot Group Show, Toronto Canada Whippersnapper Gallery, Summer Showcase, Toronto Canada Blowjobs over Baltimore, Group Art Show, Toronto Canada Kohl Gallery, The Human Form Group Show, Toronto Canada Toronto School of Art, Year End Show, Toronto Canada

2007: Hidden Gems, Juried Fundraiser for Toronto School of Art Toronto School of Art, Christmas Show, Toronto Canada Toronto School of Art Year End Show, Toronto Canada

Email: ssoutham@gmail.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/sydneyclairesoutham

http://sydneysoutham.blogspot.com/