Zoe Toolan East Sussex, United Kingdom

• 
• 
• 

  Back to profiles Invite to apply

I'm a multidisciplinary artist from the south via the north, with one foot in the conceptual, one foot in the visual, and one foot in the in-between.

I'm constantly questioning what an artist's role is within this awesome/painful/terrifying/hilarious/awful/ beautiful/baffling world we live in.

Time confuses and scares the hell out of me, but I'm fascinated by the links between it and our understanding: 'just' by being alive, everything we know will change or disappear and because of this inevitable and irreversible shift, I place massive importance on direct experience and meaningful social interaction. I therefore value family (or friendship or community or inclusion or whatever name you personally call "not feeling alone") above all else, with my work centering around social live art practises that bring people together. And conversely, the lack of it: loss, and the links between independence and loneliness are constant presences/lines of inquiry. I'm also intrigued by our relationships towards objects and how an item becomes a treasured possession. And drawing. Always drawing, which I truly believe is the basis for how a person is innately wired.

I'm also an artist educator passionately believing in radical pedagogy through equality, listening, discourse, mutual learning and delicious whisky. And I regard anything I teach (although I would never call myself a teacher) as a live, participatory happening and a vital part of my practice and own education.