jojo taylor
I attempt to magnify the sometimes bizarre nature of different events in a fragmented narrative, often possessing a dreamscape quality, as I inquire into the relationship between the ‘ordinary’ and the ‘strange’, the inner sphere of the imagination and external realities of the everyday. My work is occasionally based on stories, but always on my curiosity about the world that I occupy, offering an other-worldly alternative to reality.
To this end I conducted interviews on altered states of consciousness including hallucinations, out of body experiences and grief, and devised work based on peoples stories.
Intrigued by the absurd, uncanny, powerful and playful aspects of life, by the moments when we lose our very sense of self, I make tableaux that incorporate, sound, song, performance and film. Costumed characters reveal themselves in surreal, carnivalesque scenes displaying ritualistic tendencies. I am interested in the psychological impact of sound and endeavour to harness its affective qualities within my work through my use of voice and the sonic qualities of items as diverse as body parts and teapots. I can sometimes be found disrupting the evryday and blurring the boundaries between audience and performer.
My work questions what it means to be human, through an exploration of the component parts of life’s dilemmas and my idiosyncratic presentations of the human soul.
Qualifications:
2015-2017: MA in Fine Art: Distinction. Central Saint Martins (CSM), London.
2009: City and Guilds, Prepare to teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector, Hertfordshire.
2004-2006: City and Guilds in Photography, Tower Hamlets Institute, London.
2002-2004: Post Graduate Certificate in Youth and Community work, Brunel University, London
Selection of group Exhibitions/performances:
2019: Sabri Senevi, Cinema House Film Screening, Adana, Turkey.
2019: Every Me, group show, Adana, Turkey.
2019: Foreign Body, performance, Adana, Turkey.
2019: 'Beating the Bounds', The Crypt Gallery, St Pancras, London.
2019: 'Invisible Material', London College of Communication, London.
2018: 'BLUNT', Limehouse Studios, London.
2018: 'Visual Poetry', Sichuan art museum, Chengdu, China.
2017: ‘Expeller’, performance, The Room, hosted by Anthony Howell,
London.
2017: ‘Grammar’, a performance devised by Anthony Howell, Raven Row, London.
2017: ‘The Engine Room-International Sound Art Exhibition’, Morley Gallery, London.
2017: ‘XHIBIT’, Art Bermondsey Project Space, London.
2017: ‘mmm’, sound piece at TATE Exchange, The TATE Modern, London.
2017: 'Expeller', performance at TATE Exchange, The TATE Modern, London.
2017: ‘Within Hearing Distance’, sound event at Annihilation, The Lethaby Gallery, CSM, London.
2016: ‘Sacred Art’, Aberglasney gardens, Wales.
2016: ‘Our Laughter Will Drown Your Sorrows’, The Laundry, London.
2015: ‘Threads of Time’, touring group exhibition, Stevenage Museum, Hertfordshire.
2014: ‘Threads of Time’, touring group exhibition, Courtyard Arts, Hertford.
2013: ‘Eight by eight project’, donated work for a children’s charity. Eden Court, Inverness.
2012: ‘Six hundred feet, six dead’, The Brunel Museum, Grand Entrance Hall, London.
2012: ‘Dickensian Hauntings’, Illumini: The basement, Shoreditch Town hall, London.
2011: ‘Open studios’: Fairlands Farmhouse studios, Hertfordshire.
2010: ‘Crypt-mas’, Illumini: The Crypt Gallery, St Pancras Church, London.
2010: ‘Secret Subterranean London’, Illumini: The Basement, Shoreditch town hall, London.
2009: ‘Hertfordshire visual arts forum’: Hertfordshire.
Fellowships, Scholarships and Awards:
2017: The Mercers Award.
2015-2017: The South Square Trust Scholarship.
2009-2012: Fellowship with Digswell Arts Trust.
Shortlisted:
2017: Helen Scott Lidgett Award.
2017: Second round selection stage of Bloomberg New Contemporaries.
2013: British Women Artists Competition.
Residencies:
2019: Every Me art residency, (two weeks), Adana, Turkey. Curated by Mustafa Boga.
2017-2018: The Lifeboat residency, (one year), with Artsquest and ACAVA.
Public Speaking about my work:
2019: Invisible material group screening/ I talked about my work as part of the Lifeboat residency.
2017: Student Speaker at CSM graduation Ceremony at The Royal Festival Hall to 2000 people.
2015: Presentation at the community archives annual conference at U.C.L.
Press, catalogues, interviews and membership:
2020: Weekly online higlights, Axisweb for my piece 'Carnage'.
https://www.axisweb.org/highlights/2019/new-art-highlights-30-december-5-january/
2019: Weekly online higlights, Axisweb for my piece 'Threshold'.
https://www.axisweb.org/highlights/2019/new-art-highlights-21-27-october/
2018: Women Cine Makers special edition interview. https://issuu.com/women.cine-makers/docs/special.edition/26
2018-2020: A member of Axisweb
2018-2020: A member of a-n The Artist Information Company
2018-2019: A member of BLUNT peer mentoring group
2018: Aesthetica magazine
2017: Weekly online higlights, Axisweb for my piece 'Open Day'.
2017:Take five interview for CSM.
2017: Degree show catalogue.
2016: Sacred Art catalogue.
2016: MAFA interim show Catalogue.
2014/2015: Threads of Time catalogues and interview.
2013-2017: A member of the British Women Artists, online group.
2012: Online Time Out for Brunel installation for Open House.
2010: BBC London, Live radio interview for the Breakfast show.
2010: BBC film crew interview.