Olana Light MRSS

Artist Statement:

My work reflects the connection between humans and nature, the multiplicity of identity, and the never-ending pursuit of belonging.  

I experiment with new ways of reaching audiences - through eco-based wearable sculpture live performances on the streets and non-gallery public spaces, I explore connections between people, places, and nature.

The transformative power of wearable sculptures helps to liberate me from the shackles of social constraints: I hide the presence of my person by masking race, social status, and class; I transform into a being who is constantly seeking a home, trying to understand what it means to be human and questioning where I belong.

Viewers are invited to observe the story of human creatures blending back with their natural environment and creating a ‘we-world’- an inclusive environment at the intersection of all systems, a realm in which everybody belongs. 

I seek to create a dialogue for change: about nature and our relationship with it; about who we are; and about why art is and should be for everyone to access.

Bio:

Olana Light is a multidisciplinary artist based in Hampshire. She has an MA from Goldsmiths (2020) and a BA from Southampton Solent University (2017). 

Recent awards include the CAS Emerging Sculptors Award (2023), Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant (2022 and 2021); Blue Sky Ideas Art&Heritage Award (2022); The Spring Open Competition Award (2022); the Little Forest Open Competition (2022); ‘a space’ arts Lucky Dip Bursary (2021); Zealous Stories Sculpture (2021); Sunny Art Prize Award (2020); and the Goldsmiths International Response Scholarship Award (2017). She was also shortlisted for the 8th International Marianne Brandt Award (2022); NAE Open (2022); the Zealous Stories: Short Film (2022); the Next Thing Award (2021); the Zealous Stories Performance (2020); Batsford Prize Award (2019 and 2017); the Harvest Short Film Competition (2019); the Visual Art Open Prize (2018); the Nasty Women International Art Prize (2018), and the Platform Graduate Award (nominated by Aspex Gallery, 2017).

She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally. Recent solo exhibitions include Fly Like a Butterfly, Making Space, Havant(2023); Let It Breathe, Hidden Wardrobe, 'a space' arts, Southampton(2022); out I side I in, The Smallest Gallery, Soho(2021); We Are Not Ourselves, The Stone Space, and Jeannie Avent Gallery, London(2021).

Olana has completed residencies at EcoSuites in Greece (2022); School of Design and Fashion in Southampton (2019); Aspex Gallery in Portsmouth (2017 and 2018); and Sticks Gallery in Fareham (2017).

Recent publications include Ludvig Rage, Inside Artist, and Trebuchet.