Safira Taylor
Safira Taylor
Plus VAT if applicable
pomi.sihpa, 2021
Oil and gouache on muslin and paper
125 x 140 x 32 cm
About this work
This work began as a flat painting on layered muslin and paper. Taylor layered dyed fabric on both sides before priming and working into it with oil paint, oil pastel and oil stick. She then cut into the work creating a new iteration of the painting, which was then hardened into shape. By cutting through the work, the artist exposes the layers, giving the viewer insight into the process: the raw muslin and paper are exposed as well as the dyed backside of the work. The surface becomes a collection of diverse planes, and the work becomes its own milieu.
About Safira Taylor
Safira Taylor (b. 1993, Muscat, Oman) is currently living and working in Amsterdam. Taylor’s practice spans painting, sculpture, film, photography, and installation. In 2020, she received her MA in Painting from the Royal College of Art, London, after gaining her BA in Fine Art from the Academie Minerva, Groningen, in 2017. Recent exhibitions include: Fold Gallery, London, Josh Lilley, online, Unit 1 Gallery|Workshop, London, Hockney Gallery, London, the Barbican Arts Group Trust, London, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, and the Truman Brewery, London.
In Taylor’s recent works, she incorporates cyclical shapes taken directly from nature. The cyclical form reflects her processes in the studio, as well as the life cycles found in natural environments. To her, this shape also represents the intertwined relationships between different elements. By layering circles, as commonly seen in the Venn diagram, an essential connection between otherwise individual components is created.
Taylor works with layered sheer muslin and tissue paper, which, being transparent, allow part of the process to be exposed to the viewer. Both her physical and theoretical process of making involve numerous layers: layering of thoughts, layering of time, layering of experience, and layering to diversify. Diversification is fundamental to her practice as it is the core of thriving natural environments. It is also a large part of her identity and, therefore, her way of thinking.
Education
2018-2020 Royal College of Art, London, MA Painting
2013-2017 Academie Minerva Groningen, BA Fine Art
Residencies
2017 Oficina Divagar, Almada, October/November
2017 Kunsthuis SYB 24uur Residencies, Beetsterzwaag
Awards and Scholarships
2018 Prins Bernhard Cultuur Fonds, Young Talent Award
2015 Hans Brinker Budget Trophy
Selected Exhibitions
2020 50/50, Fold Gallery, London
2020 Beacon, Josh Lilley Gallery (online)
2020 Show 2020, Royal College of Art, London
2020 Essentials Shop, No Man’s Art Gallery, Amsterdam
2020 Up, Up and Away, Hockney Gallery, London
2019 Influencing the Influencer, TORCH Gallery, Amsterdam
2019 Nescafe Azera X Time Out London, Truman Brewery, London
2019 It’s A Lot Like Life, Gorvy Lecture Theatre, Royal College of Art, London
2019 Brexhibtion, Courtyard Galleries, RCA, London
2019 We Can Only Have Fun on Certain Days, Warbling Collective x Stour Space, London
2019 Work-In-Progress Show, Royal College of Art, London
2018 MOAM X Paradiso 50 jaar Paradiso, Amsterdam
2018 FIEG, Y2, Groningen
2018 Paperworks, Corrosia, Almere
2017 Another Reassuring Depository of Truths, This Art Fair, Beurs van Berlage Amsterdam
2017 A Reassuring Depository of Truths, Oficina Divagar, Almada
2017 Perspectives, Academie Minerva, Groningen