insideKENT Magazine Issue 101 - September 2020 | Page 8

ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT KENT ARTIST PROFILE: LIZ WILSON © Daniel Allison TRAINED AT THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART, LECTURER AT UNIVERSITY OF THE CREATIVE ARTS AND THE COACHWORKS’ INAUGURAL ARTIST IN RESIDENCE, LIZ WILSON IS ON A MISSION TO EDUCATE AND INSPIRE. Congratulations on becoming Coachworks’ first ever artist in residence, what led to your appointment? I first heard about the residency opportunity through the Arts Council England website. I was immediately drawn to the commission because of the historical context of Coachworks and its links to the industrial revolution, which is a reoccurring exploration within my practice. If you had to define your art, how would you describe what you do? Working across the boundaries of moving image, sound, print, and sculpture, my practice explores the relationships between industrialisation, technologies and print; in particular the beginning of automation and how this is altering our relationships with technology. I am fascinated in the human-machine relationship of both ‘conductor’ and ‘orchestra’ and how these performative roles manifest themselves during the process of manufacturing. How did you become an artist? From an early age creativity has been an integral part of my everyday life. Becoming an artist has been a gradual process for me, I have been incredibly fortunate to have studied at various art schools, most recently at the Royal College of Art. These experiences have led me to cultivate a practice over time, which is constantly evolving. What medium does your artwork take most of the time, and why do you think it takes this form? I enjoy working across a range of mediums as it provides me with a conduit to bring together elements to generate immersive and experiential environments for an audience. I take pleasure experimenting with new processes and techniques to draw parallels with my research. Only recently the use of sound within my work has re-emerged and this is something I would like to explore and develop much further. 8