Pippa El-Kadhi Brown: Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize Overall Winner 2020

London-based artist, Pippa El-Kadhi Brown, completed her foundation Diploma in Fine Art at Camberwell College of the Arts, University of the Arts London (2017), before attaining her Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art from The University of Brighton.

Upon graduating Pippa was awarded the Creekside Graduate Studio Award and accepted a three-month Residency at Creekside Projects. Here she showcased her first solo exhibition, House Plants, Creekside Projects, London (2019). Having returned from the Organhaus Studio Residency where she spent three months living and working in China, Pippa is now undertaking her Masters in Painting at the Royal College of Art.

Would you please tell us a little more about your practice?

I have an ever-growing interest in the relationship between the home and the self. In my paintings I explore the domestic setting as a conscious space which exists both physically and psychologically. I’m really drawn to (and also terrified by) the philosophical notion of being.  I explore this idea of sentient identity through our intimate relationship with our environments. 

I handle paint in a bodily and gestural way. As my practice orientates around this idea of the (non)human, it’s important to me to embody a sense of presence during the creation of a painting. I work mainly in oil, but sometimes turn to acrylic when I want to achieve more diffused and airy figures. I love the sculptural element of oil paint and how it can be almost moulded rather than painted, creating an interesting spatial dialogue between the forms and the viewer.

I am influenced by senses, experience and domestic surroundings. I’ve always been fascinated in Francis Bacon’s ability to capture a flicker of human presence as it dissolves into the canvas. I’m also really drawn to the abstraction and figuration of works by artists like Cecily Brown, Willem de Kooning, Roy Oxlade and the wonderfully chaotic paintings by Hieronymus Bosch. 

Bird Sounds, 2019, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 60 cm.

What does it mean to you to be the Overall Winner for the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize 2020?

Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize has such a diverse and international following and it feels rather surreal to be the Overall Winner! There has been such an incredible line up this year and I feel unbelievably proud to be selected by the widely respected panel of judges. 

To me, it really means a sense of recognition and acknowledgement, which is completely incomparable as a young emerging artist. Receiving this award has brought me a great sense of confidence in myself and my practice in an artworld that at times can feel totally impenetrable.

I’m honoured to collaborate with Ashurst over the next few months, as they host and support my upcoming solo show. To be able to exhibit for a long duration in such a vibrant area of London is amazing. As an artist, my most valuable asset is the artwork itself, to be the Overall Winner of the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize and to have my artwork shared on such a large scale feels truly monumental. It’s a really exciting time! 

Takeaway?, 2018, oil on canvas, 238 x 209 cm.

 In your opinion, how well does the contemporary art world embrace and support emerging artists?  

Like the incredible Ashurst Emerging Artists Prize, there are many great organisations whose aims are to support and celebrate emerging talents. Spreading globally are residencies and prizes that are targeted solely on emerging artists or recent graduates. These have been invaluable in the progression of my emerging career, in terms of funding, exposure and support. They have also acted as gateways for travel and allowed me to push boundaries and make connections with exciting and unfamiliar art scenes overseas.

I believe social media is an amazing platform for artists to source this support, as well as a really helpful tool for organisations to spread the word of exciting opportunities. It’s an accessible platform for anyone, anywhere to share their art and ideas with the world, offering as a constant source of inspiration from emerging talent, as well as exposure to a diverse audience.  

Chop and Shop Medley II, A Bathtub Scene, 2020, digital collage.

How did the pandemic and the months of lockdown impact your practice? What were the challenges that you faced as an artist? How did you adapt?  

As the strange notion of lockdown unravelled and became a very real reality, I began to realise just how eerily relevant it was to my practice. Suddenly, overnight, the nation became the figures in my paintings and it was so interesting to see how people responded to and merged with their domestic settings. 

I set up an at-home-studio-space in the living room, however, I found that the buzz of everyday home life inevitably poured into the workspace and I couldn’t really get into the zone. I created some interesting smaller works on paper but used this time mainly to really reflect on my practice and soak in the domestic space that surrounded me.

This led me towards digital collage where I fragmented and cut out sections of older paintings, and layered pieces back together to create new environments, with fresh narratives. It was great to pick these works apart, whilst simultaneously bring them together and play with this idea of domestic (dys)functionality. Now I’m back in the studio, I’m using these collages as studies to create paintings, which I’m feeling really excited about. 

Mind Sports, 2018, oil and acrylic on canvas, 40 x 30 cm.

Do you have any new projects in progress/any upcoming events?

I’m so excited to share a body of my work in the Ashurst winning solo exhibition at Ashurst’s Emerging Artist Gallery. I’m currently working on planning the show which will open on the 9th of November and run until April 2021!

I have recently started my master’s degree in Painting at The Royal College of Art. I’ve been enjoying the active process of research and questioning. I’m looking forward to spending the next two years to really focus on development and exploration. 

In order to raise money for the National Health Service, I am taking part in Create for the NHS, an exhibition which celebrates artwork created during lockdown. I have also been working in collaboration with Boutique Kaotique and Gendered Intelligence on a T shirt design project which help support gender diversity.  It’s been a really interesting project so far as it is the first time my painting translated on to clothing - I’m really excited to see the result!

I will be spending time in Liepaja, Latvia for a residency I received as the 2019 winner of Art Pegazs Taste of Life Award, followed by an exhibition in Art Pegazs, Riga. I’m looking forward to spending this time absorbing myself in my painting, in a beautiful and secluded setting on the Baltic coast. Unfortunately, delayed due to covid, I am hoping to be able to go next summer.

My Hair Hissed and Turned To Serpents, My Eyes Saw The World In Stone, 2020, oil, acrylic, pastel and pencil on fine art paper, 29 x 20.5 cm .

Before we say goodbye, do you have any final comments or words of advice for emerging artists?

Here’s some advice which I need to constantly remind myself - It’s ok to have a break. I feel that as an emerging artist, there is a persistent pressure to be constantly productive in your practice, in order to grow and succeed as quickly as possible. This felt extremely prevalent in the era of lockdown, where many felt a heightened expectation to be actively creative, in order to make the most of what could be a period of artistic productivity. It’s easy to forget that time spent to reflect can be equally as precious as time spent creating. I believe that time out to think is so valuable in order to grow. Let yourself work at your own pace and try not to put pressure on your practice.

Thank you, Pippa.

Follow Pippa on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or visit his website.

Images courtesy of the artist.

Emily Crozier,

Editor-in-Chief, MADE IN BED.