Lisa Evans Floorr Artist Interviews

 


"Having been surrounded by industrial objects from a young age, this has influenced my practice, approach to any practical obstacles and experimentation with ‘heavy’ materials."























 








Could you tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you been a practising artist and where did you study?
I studied Fine Art Sculpture at Carmarthen School of Art, Wales; specialising in casting, construction and fabrication. There was an emphasis on traditional sculpture techniques and processes which has continued to feed into my practice as a contemporary artist. After graduating in 2014 I was keen to continue developing my practice and took up the artist in residence position in the sculpture department at the school. Over the last few years I’ve exhibited work on an international and national level including most recently at the Venice Art House Gallery; besides this I’ve experienced in depth Iron Casting at Conferences, travelling to Ireland, Latvia and most recently to Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama.
Last year I completed my MFA after receiving a scholarship to study at Cardiff School of Art & Design; achieving a Distinction.  However the year was a challenging experience and I found that my work shifted from previous heavily focused material experimentation and was limited at times due to space and facilities. There’s an organic approach to my practice, I try not to limit or tie myself to a specific discipline; my work currently sits at the intersection between sculpture, installation and performance.



























Could you tell us about your recent performance piece “Women at Work”? What was the inspiration behind it?
The idea behind Women at Work came from previous research into women and industry, and how my own personal experiences of working in a foundry was predominately male dominated. The National Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art & Practices became a starting point of contact for female artists who are interested in working collaboratively to explore object (domestic) and action using molten cast iron as the primal material. The focus behind this body of work was to explore material, object and gender; highlighting and questioning the consciousness of stereotypical roles as my research has begun to consider the role of women in sculpture and how female sculptors have formed relationships with material.
The performance comprised of a production run pour with a female only crew. We worked specifically with domestic objects such as cake tins, dusters, sieves that were placed on long wooden tables and larger objects, the washing machine and tumble dryer became a focal point. Molten iron was poured in or over the objects becoming exposed and destroyed. The aim of Women at Work was to highlight the intense nature of foundry work, specifically iron casting; emphasising the role of women and questioning the consciousness of stereotypical roles. My experience at Sloss Furnaces evolved into an innovative approach and understanding of iron casting and how I can further engage with performance to explore an international and collaborative dialogue.








































































































Gwaith RAMUSEVANS COLLABORATIVE, 2016