Guest Speaker 18- Sian Bonnell
Sian Bonnell’s practice functions within paradoxical spaces, sculptures, performance and photography. Through this, she focuses on performativity, playfulness, humour and objects. She talked us through her experience and journey through her creative career.
She advised us that “when you get an idea, follow it no matter how weird or absurd it is. Don’t be afraid of looking silly, and don’t overthink it”.
My favourite series of work that she showed us were “Everyday Dada”, “Disciplines” and “Health and Safety” as they show the mundane every day in a playful, humorous way. I liked how she uses the objects performing in the spaces and how it’s very much considered in the images she has made. She has no control over how the audience perceives her work which is a worry I have about my own work.
“The Secret Life of Tressels”- questioning taste. She questioned what is the least I need to perform/ cause-effect in photographs? What’s the minimum I need to do to make something happen?
This made me consider my own work and in the Q&A section of the talk, I explained my current project and asked her about how to stop worrying whether people will not take my work seriously and how I can overcome the feeling of that. She gave me some good advice in response:
Being playful can be serious (serious play).
Don’t be worried about your work not being serious or not being taken seriously.
She also gave me a few artists and books to research that would help my practice.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this talk and how Sian spoke about her work, I admired how she embraced the playfulness in her work and doesn’t take it too seriously. The advice she gave me some direction for my practice and has reassured me for my future practice.
Sian’s website: https://www.sianbonnell.com/
Screenshot from Sian’s website