Laura Wilson Screening and Talk – Trained On Veda

At the centre of this evolving project is a malted loaf of veda bread through which Wilson is connecting bakeries and galleries. The project was initiated during a residency at Delfina Foundation in 2016, and is developed with Site Gallery, TACO!, Grand Union and Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art. Please visit the project website www.trainedonveda.com for more information.

Laura will be joined by Martha Brown, baker and owner Forge Bakehouse with  whom she developed Fold and Stretch (2016) for her Platform Residency at Site Gallery in 2016. Fold and Stretch (2016) was a performance inspired by how the body moves when baking bread. To develop this work Wilson observed the movements of the bakery over the course of a month, working alongside Martha and her team of bakers to learn about the mechanics and timings of the bakery. Through this process Wilson wanted to really get to know the ingredients, to understand the bakers’ craft and familiarise herself with dough. She then worked with choreographer Lucy Suggate to incorporate these movements into the final work. The resulting performance presented within the gallery space saw three female dancers who over 24 minutes manipulated a mass of dough equivalent to their own body weight.

Biography

Laura Wilson (b. Belfast, Northern Ireland, lives & works in London) is interested in how history is carried and evolved through everyday materials, trades and craftsmanship. She works with specialists to develop sculptural and performative works that amplify the relationship between materiality, memory and tacit knowledge.

 Wilson’s interdisciplinary and research-based works have been exhibited widely including at: The British Museum, London, UK with Block Universe; Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, UK; and The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London, UK (2018); SPACE, London; V&A, London; and Invisible Dust (2017); Delfina Foundation (2016 & 17) RIBA, London; and Site Gallery, Sheffield UK (2016); Whitstable Biennial (2014); Camden Arts Centre, London and Turner Contemporary, Margate (2013); W139, Amsterdam and De Warande, Turnhout, Belgium (2012). She is currently presenting work as part of Food: Bigger than the Plate at the V&A London and has forthcoming projects and exhibitions in 2019/ 20 with Grand Union, Birmingham, TACO, London, Grand Union, Birmingham and MIMA, Middlesbrough. She been awarded a commission with New Geographies, a major site-responsive visual arts programme across the East of England with Norwich Castle Gallery and Museum. 

Twitter: @laura_wil

Instagram: @wilsonlaurawilson