I arrived in Magdalen Road studios on a crisp day in October 2016. I was met by Katie Taylor, the studio manager. The space was perfect for me, high ceilings, grey floor, and 24 hour access. The studios have a small kitchen and an outside space. A few of the spaces are walk-through, so I was happy to be at the front of the building, with a big window and a private door.
I received the first artist in residence grant with Magdalen Road Studios and Wolfson College in 2016.
I live in Berlin, and so travelled to Oxford with a suitcase full of paint, and had a month of full-time studio access to look forward to.
I painted almost 10m x 1.8m of oil paintings within a month. I experimented with some different materials, and ended up paving the way for the next 6 months of work. The time and space to work away from all my life’s distractions was invaluable.
All of the work I made in the studios has been transformed into sculptures and sewn together for the last two exhibitions I’ve done. The residency was a really great experience for me, and really helped me consolidate some ideas, and opened up a lot of new avenues of experimentation and changed the way I have made my work since.
Thank you to Katie Taylor for being so wonderful and supportive, and thanks to Magdalen Road studios!
