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Q&A: BETHAN LLoYD WoRTHINGToN, MANIFoLD STUDIo GRoUP
Why did you decide to start your own
studios, rather than joining someone
else’s?
The Royal College of Art can be
quite an all-consuming experience;
everything becomes about what
happens within that building and the
people around you. We were quite
a tight year group and we became
accustomed to running things together
during our two-year Masters (such
as exhibitions, publications, crits),
and so it was natural that we started
talking about what we’d do next and
moving forward with it together.
There was a sense that we could make
it what we wanted it to be, rather
than standing under someone else’s
umbrella – even if we didn’t quite
know what we wanted.
What have been the high points for
you as a group since setting up the
studio?
There are definitely things that we’ve
been invited to do on the basis that
we’re a group. The collaboration
with AirSpace Studio was a great
early one, instigated by the British
Ceramics Biennial; members of our
group were randomly paired up with
members of their studio group to
make collaborative works. In 2012 we
were approached by National Trust to
do a ‘Late’ at 2 Willow Road, which
we expanded on to create a dual-site
exhibition at 2 Willow Road and Red
House. The project was called This Is
How To Live. We also ran workshops
at the V&A last summer. This year
we’ve been approached by artist Clare
Twomey of the craft collective 60/40
to ‘take over’ Siobhan Davies Studios
in Elephant & Castle for three months
over the summer.
What are the benefits of being in a
group like this?
opportunities – both in the sense of
the ones already mentioned, where
people approach us because we’re
a group, but also because things get
passed amongst us. If someone spots
or hears about an opportunity, they’ll
email it out to the group even if
they’re going for it themselves.
Noise – nine people talking about
a thing is louder than one person
talking about a thing. We all have our
individual practices and the studio
is there to support that. If the studio
attracts attention, it can help people
find their way to your own work.
Support – emotional, critical,
knowledgeable, physical.
What advice would you give new
graduates?
Don’t assume any money will turn up
because you’ve graduated. Just get a
part-time job, anything to keep you
ticking over for a bit, but preferably
something that’s flexible or easy to
leave at short notice. It’s really hard to
make art if you’re worrying.
Manifold
is a group of nine
artists and designers who
founded a studio in an East
London railway arch in 2010.
Their individual activities range
from sculpture, installation,
digital art, process-driven
product design, drawing,
research, teaching, collaborative
projects and progressive
approaches to age-old ways of
making.
These practices grew up
alongside each other when
the artists were all studying
at the Royal College of Art.
Shared knowledge and the
power of the group are the
pillars of Manifold’s approach.
Founding member Bethan Lloyd
Worthington explains why,
along with other artists and
designers, she decided to form a
studio group.
The Manifold studio members, London.