Gradwatch 2020: Artist Matilda White, Camberwell Faculty of Arts
Matilda White draws on the Art Deco and Jugendstil movements to portray mysterious characters who challenge our assumptions about and understanding of femininity and sexuality. She describes herself as a graphic designer and artist, works both digitally and on paper, and has recently branched out into textiles. For her graduation project, White created a woven piece called A Gender Circus that uses symbols and tropes from the world of performance to explore topics such as gender and identity.
However, according to the artist, she only started refining her own style in the last year. "A lot of the people in my class had an obvious style that they went to every time they got a project, but I found I enjoyed doing anything," she told CR. “It just depended on the idea I had. Sometimes I did a digital illustration that was way more cardboard, playful, or abstract, and sometimes I wanted it to be really detailed, with hatching and precise proportions. "
Part of her approach has been shaped by an interest in vintage or historical art styles that are more of a graphic or illustrative approach – which she digitally recreated. But White also enjoys working by hand, and says one of the main reasons she chose Camberwell was because of the printing facilities. "They have really old machines, and I liked the tactility of watching me print," she explains. "While all of the other screen printing studios I've been to are much more modern. I felt much more comfortable in Camberwell."
Her interest in gender, especially femininity, has been persistent and something that White has followed since she started studying. Before starting her studies, she had used sculpture to explore ideas of the female body image that gradually evolved into a dissertation dealing with what it means to be female.
"The blanket took all of these ideas and all of the thinking out of my dissertation as well as all of the pressures that come with gender," she says. "I looked at ideas about gender performance and how it is one big masquerade game, how I feel when I wake up in the morning or what situation I am in, and compared that to a circus."
"Without Covid, I wouldn't have made this blanket," she adds. "I wouldn't have come out with the result I love, but because I was at home with an iPad to work on, I was able to give birth to this really intricate drawing. I wouldn't have sat down and spent the time doing it if I did Had been in the studio, I would have wanted to play around with more physical things. "
White plans to explore this subject further through her work, but also hopes to work more as a graphic designer, possibly as part of a studio.
matildawhite.cargo.site