Lauren Malcolm, HND in Applied Arts student at City of Glasgow College, won the Applied Arts Scotland Prize of a year’s free membership at their student exhibition Metamorphosis on the theme of climate change and craftivism at RGI Kelly Gallery last year.
AAS Advisor Barbara Shearer said “Lauren created a work with an interesting narrative reflecting the environmental stresses and conflicts that we all face. Although her materials of choice, perhaps, were not as sustainable as those used by other competition entrants the piece was very wearable and had longevity so in this context was considered sustainable.”
She interviewed Lauren to find out more about her and the work.
What was the inspiration behind your winning piece ‘Beauty vs the Beast’?
It was inspired by the picture perfect nature of sunsets representing that even through the bad of the day there is always beauty at the end of the day versus the damage we have caused to the earth. When creating my piece I used metal netting which was then weaved into using embroidery thread to essentially emphasis how we should be protecting our earth due to the hard/soft contrast of materials. The structure of the arm piece and the ‘barbed wire’ was created using different thicknesses of wire. The barbed wire emphasising how endangered this beauty is to the planet.
Have you always had an interest in the arts?
Yes definitely! Ever since a young age I have always had a keen interest in the creative industries and was always where I felt happiest at school. I have always felt like I found my comfort yet was always pushed to go beyond in the art department.
Has your field of interest changed during the course of your Applied Arts Studies at City of Glasgow College?
Absolutely, it allowed me explore many areas of applied arts and find which particular subject suits me best. Going into the course I had in my mind I wanted to be a fine artist, however thanks to the help of the course I discovered my passion really lay with Textiles.
Are there any artists who have been particularly inspirational to you?
An artist whom has always drawn my attention with her unique work and inspires me is Alexa Meade. She creates work which combines reality and imagination as she paints directly onto the human body to imitate the illusion of a 2D painting. Her work is truly extraordinary and distinctive and inspires me to make work out of the ordinary.
What are your future plans?
Next year I am hoping to move onto University to continue studying and exploring my interests in textiles. Eventually, in a few years I hope to graduate with an honours degree and many new skills in the textiles industry.
