School of Fine Art Sculpture & Environmental Art

Amy Brandon (she/her, they/them)

A still image of a muddy puddle. The water in the puddle is reflecting the cloudy sky and tree branches above it. The puddle is lined with stones and wet leaves. The text on the bottom centre of the image reads: "wet and soft,"

Within my practice, I aim to explore personal and collective understanding of common human experience; such as memory and nostalgia, with accessibility and mental health as undercurrents of my work. Inspired by personal experience, I attempt to create a feeling of connection and relatability to the audience. The main drive behind my work is not about making something “aesthetically pleasing” or simply just viewable; but to create a connection with the people who encounter and experience the work.

Personally, I’ve always struggled to feel comfortable and accepted in some art spaces, and have quite an issue with things having to look expensive, clean and immaculately perfect. Whether this is something more philosophical or not – it inspires my work a lot, as I feel like my work reflects the craft and care that goes into it, and I wouldn’t like to jeopardise that for the sake of looking “professional”

My practice is structured and consistent; and greatly accommodates my needs as a neurodivergent, working class artist. I strive to make my work as accessible as possible for working class and disabled audiences, through sharing work freely and without limitation.

Contact
amybrandon111@gmail.com
a.brandon1@student.gsa.ac.uk
Carrd page with all social media links
Works
Elegy
teleportation
Genesis
Cessation
A world that I love(d)
more than one domestic time machine
A still image of a muddy puddle. The water in the puddle is reflecting the cloudy sky and tree branches above it. The puddle is lined with stones and wet leaves. The text on the bottom centre of the image reads: "wet and soft,"

Still from "Elegy"

A still from my video piece "Elegy" - "Elegy" is an exploration of place, memory and regeneration. Using the context and symbolism of nature, the video recounts familiar and positive memories of home, with themes of mortality and cyclical living.

Elegy

“an elegy is a poem of serious reflection, usually a lament for the dead.”

Shot on location back home, I was able to really document my surroundings and fabricate significant memories that each location holds there. I’ve struggled with the idea of everything changing since I’ve been gone, and the format and title of ‘elegy’ was most fitting for the text piece I had written. This is not about death, but renewal. A reflection on these past experiences and fleeting moments that cease to exist; that are dead, in a sense.

I produced the written work separate to the video. When filming, I film in a somewhat serendipitous way with no pre-planning or shot-list, and very little expectations for what may arise.

A still image of a grassy background with white text on top. The text reads: "ELEGY By Amy Brandon 2022"

Still of Elegy

an image of a monitor mounted on a wall. The monitor is playing the video piece "elegy"

Elegy and Teleportation

"Elegy" installed and playing at the degree show. Both 'Elegy' and 'teleportation' are playing on a looped reel.

teleportation

“teleportation” is a video piece made over the winter break from 2021-2022.

This piece was the first instance of producing a written piece first, and serendipitously creating a video surrounding it. Originally, I didn’t plan to combine the two pieces together, until it became a moment of experimentation.

In it’s first exhibition, it was only viewable by QR code, and without the code it was unavailable to be viewed again. It provided a boundary for myself as the creator and the audience. I chose to present the work as an “optional viewing experience” – you can either view it or not. I intended for it to be a personal conversation between me and the audience, but not to be displayed publicly or to a whole group.

 

a still image of the interior of a bus. There is text along the bottom which reads: "why must I leave?"

Still of "teleportation"

still image of the interior of a bus int he background. In the foreground are 3 portrait orientated images of fireworks. There is text along the bottom which reads "because I can't handle it"

Still of "teleportation"

Genesis

“Genesis” is a hand written piece, that exists alongside another text piece titled “Cessation”.

“Genesis” is all about the beginning of transitioning. ‘The Fool’ in a tarot card reading. Moving from one space to the next. Nature symbolism is used to describe feelings of displacement and trying to figure out how to acclimatise to new places. The time of when this was written is unclear, which emphasises this idea that change is inevitable and the discomfort will always be there.

An image of a hanging hand-written text piece. The piece is hung by a dowel, which is strung up with yarn onto a nail in the wall. The wall is a bumpy, wood-chip texture that is painted magnolia. The piece is written in olive-green ink. A large piece of masking tape is above the piece, and reads: "Genesis"

Genesis

An image of a hanging piece of text. The paper is hung on a dowel, which is strung up on a nail in the wall. The wall is wallpapered with a bumpy, woodchip texture and painted magnolia. A large piece of masking tap above it reads: "Genesis". The text piece is on off-white thin paper, hand-written in olive green ink. The text reads: "I wake and realise I have to leave. I'm not packed or prepared, but surely I have tons of time to prepare? A whole year left on this plane. Somewhere where I am separate and detached. Roots and vines trail from my achilles. They are preserved, have not yet rotted or dried out;..." The rest of the text is cut off from the bottom of the image.

genesis

Image of Genesis, installed in Degree Show 2022 Hand-written hanging text piece. water-based olive green ink on newsprint, wooden dowels and yarn. 143 cm X 50 cm

Cessation

“Cessation” is a hand written piece, that exists alongside another text piece titled “Genesis”.

Just as ‘Genesis’ is about the beginning, Cessation is about the ending. Reaching the destination, the discomfort is still prevalent.

An image of a hanging hand-written text piece. The piece is hanging by a dowel, which is strung up with yarn onto a nail in the wall. The wall is a bumpy, wood -chip texture that is painted magnolia. The text is written in olive-green ink. A large piece of masking tape is above the piece reading: "Cessation"

Cessation

An image of a hand-written text piece hangs on a wall. The wall has a bumpy, woodchip texture and is painted magnolia. The piece is hanging by a dowel, which is strung up using white yarn onto a nail in the wall. The text is written in olive-green ink. A large piece of masking tape above the text piece reads: "Cessation"

cessation

A world that I love(d)

” A World that I Love(d) – a collaborative exploration of locale”  is a project focusing on community engagement, location, locale, and collective memory. Surrounding one specific site, I had 8 participants with knowledge and experience of the site, complete 3 different tasks to describe and recount their memories. Some are vastly different, and some are very similar; but they were completed with no conferring between participants. We chose to keep the participants anonymous (only recognisable by initials), and the site name + location is redacted.

The site is sacred and special. It does not deserve the treatment it has received these past few years, and this project is almost a last effort to keep it alive.

An image of a printed booklet sitting on a shelf. The shelf looks worn with age and distress. The booklet is an off-white, cream colour, with a title and other text on the front. The text reads: "A world that I love(d), a collaborative exploration of locale." The shelf is installed on a bumpy, wood-chip textured wall.

A world that I love(d)

"A world that I love(d)" displayed in Degree Show 2022

more than one domestic time machine

“more than one domestic time machine” was originally a group of 8 paintings, each painting depicting a familiar or personally significant location.

Later on, I wanted to challenge myself to write about the pieces separately. It wasn’t until I finished that I realised the writing flowed really well with and without the paintings as context.

An image of 8 landscape paintings of various sizes and mediums installed on a wall.

more than one domestic time machine - 2021

the original "more than one domestic time machine" paintings, installed in our December 2021 exhibition "Wet Dream"
An image of a printed booklet. The booklet is sat on a distressed and worn looking shelf that is installed on a wall. The booklet is a muted mint green colour, with a title and other text ont he front which reads: "more than one domestic time machine, Amy Brandon 2022"

more than one domestic time machine

"more than one domestic time machine" displayed in Degree Show 2022