Statement:
May Hands is an artist living and working in Folkestone. Her practice investigates how our relationship with materiality shapes our understanding of the world.
Reflecting upon seasonal cycles, sensuality and the inherently curated aspect of our everyday consumptions she questions how society constructs and articulates value and desire
She documents and collects her observations and processes through traditional craft-based techniques, photography, field notes and the collecting of objects, layering them together to create sensory experiences.
Vital to her practice is the honouring of tactility, sensitivity and sustainability. The handmade is heavily present in her work; techniques such as natural dye, stitch, spinning, knit, weave and ceramics are used within contemporary fine art frameworks. These handcrafted tactile elements are juxtaposed with ready-made and mass-produced objects and detritus, inviting the viewer to consider the origins of technologies, language and culture.
Bio:
May Hands, (b.1990, Brighton) graduated with an MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths in 2020 and a BA in Fine Art Painting from Camberwell College of Art (UAL) in 2013. Selected solo exhibitions include: Best before end, White Crypt, London (2019), May Hands: Artist-in-Residence, Bosse & Baum, London (2018), I’ve Loved You For a Long Time, Supplement, London (2018), Freschissimi, T293, Rome (2015) and Bleach, Roman Road, London (2015). Selected group shows include: Eastbourne Open, Volt, Eastbourne (2022), Ecdysis, Staffordshire Studios, London (2021), Locus Amœnus, Function Suite, London (2021), Always Winter, Brooke Benington, London (2020), Chrysalis, Wimbledon Space, London (2020), The Real Thing, Fashion Space Gallery, London (2020), The romance of flowers, Kingsgate Project Space, London (2018), SURPLUS, The Café, hosted at Peak, London (2018), Counter Quality, 650mAh, Brighton (2018), On Cold Spring Lane, Assembly Point, London (2017), Sell Yourself, East Street Arts, Leeds (2017), Maybe your lens is scratched? The Averard Hotel, London (2016), Not Every Thread Ties Down/ Your Split Ends Are Showing? DKUK, London (2016), Women’s Art Society II, MOSTYN, Llandudno (2015).
Works
May Hands
Webs (Pendent but not falling)
2022
May Hands
Fragments (The grey-shelled snail draws across the path and flattens the blades behind him)
2022
May Hands
Horizons (Bars of yellow and green fell on the shore)
2022
May Hands
Horizons (Green surface flickering and flaming in red and yellow fibres)
2022
May Hands
Modern Relics (A white gleam of pearl on the misty sand)
2022
May Hands
Modern Relics (Dark shadows blackened the tunnels between the stalks)
2022
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Studio
