Cassy Oliphant
Much of my work begins with stories, some from Chinese and European folklore, others from my own family. I’m interested in how these tales overlap, shift, and even contradict one another, and how they change again when seen through the lens of my bi-racial identity.
Stories often arrive at us in fragments. Some are carefully passed down, others are half-remembered, and some are hidden or lost. In my family, memories feel fragile - a combination of spaces in terms of geography, memory and time. Making artwork has become my way of holding onto what might otherwise fade, despite all of its instability.
The materials I use carry this sense of care and repair. In Peranakan embroidery, for example, fabric is both stitched and cut away, creating something delicate but strong. For me, this mirrors how memory works: reinforcing parts, revealing gaps, sometimes leaving scaffolds behind. With cyanotype, images appear only partially, sometimes fading, much like memory itself. Painting brings a different energy - more fluid, intuitive and playful, echoing the shifting, symbolic nature of folktales.
Awards and Grants
Holts Arts Project Awards, Shortlisted Helen Herbert Portrait Award, Holt, Norfolk, 2026
Scott Creative Arts Foundation Emerging Artist finalist, Danum Gallery, Doncaster, 2026
Developing Your Creative Practice, Arts Council England, 2025
Curator Space Creative Bursary, 2020
Mentorship
Karanjit Panesar, Axis Mentorship Programme, 2026
Lucy Wright, Artist Professional Development Mentoring, 2025
Erika Tan, Researcher & Curator, Central St Martins 2025
Exhibitions
Holts Arts Project Exhibition, Shortlisted Helen Herbert Portrait Award, Holt, (Norfolk, 2026)
Scott Creative Arts Foundation Emerging Artist Exhibition, Danum Gallery, (Doncaster, 2026)
New Art Exchange Open 2026, New Art Exchange, (Nottingham, 2026)
Unfolding Identities, Westminster City Hall, (London, 2026)
Ones to Watch Group Show, Sunny Bank Mills (Leeds, 2026)
Scattered Stories, Solo Show - October 2025, Left Bank (Leeds, 2025)
Leeds Summer Group Show, Leeds Playhouse (Leeds, 2025)
Artists of Heart, Headingley Enterprise and Arts Centre, (Leeds, 2025)
Fronteer Gallery, (Sheffield, UK, 2025)
Fernie Brae, (Portland Oregon, USA, 2019)
Kirkstall Art Trail (Leeds, UK, 2019)
Creative Mothers Project, Aire Place Studios (Leeds, UK, 2018)
Love Arts Festival, Leeds City Museum (Leeds, UK, 2018)
Pyramid Sculpture, Armley Mills Industrial Museum (Leeds, UK, 2018)
Humankind, Rites of Passage (2018)
York River Art Market (York, UK, 2018)
Elemental Arts Event, All Hallows Church (Leeds, UK, 2017)
Stories from Wild Women, Aire Place Studios (Leeds, UK, 2017)
Kirkstall Art Trail, (Leeds, UK, 2017)
Artonomy, (Leeds, UK, 2016)
York River Art Market (York, UK 2016)
Shoddy Exhibition, Live Art Bistro (Leeds, UK, 2016)
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