Viva Lewes Issue #147 December 2018

OLIVIA BULLOCK
at an event in Shoreditch.
It was fun producing a 4 by
4 metre piece.” But she also
produces her own work.
She originally studied at
Kingston University, before
working for some years at St
Martin’s. “After I had children,
I couldn’t face the commute.”
Since then, she’s freelanced
from Lewes, and says she loves
coming into the studio: “it’s
very quiet here. Peaceful.”
She had a solo exhibition
locally a couple of years ago
called Superscience. “I’m aiming
for another one next year,
hopefully”, she says. “Have a
few ideas but can’t quite say
what its theme will be yet. I do
choose one theme, and explore
it. Music, for instance. Did you
know, there’s one polyphonic
scale that was banned as being
deemed too demonic? The way
certain notes can affect you.
Why? How? That’s the kind of
story that draws me in.”
She paints every element in
her work – the faces, hands
etc – then, usually, collages
them together. “I paint all
the detailed parts as well as
the looser washes; every element
is my own work. It’s the
juxtaposition of textures I find
effective”, she says.
“I always use gouache paint
because it dries quickly
leaving a powdery texture to
its surface. It’s often those
things – the way paint spills,
and bleeds, for instance – that
can add a real layer to the
work. The stuff that’s less
conscious. And yes, there’s
often a dark edge. But it’s the
combination – some of which
happens by chance – that most
interests me. How I balance
the idea I start out with, with
what occurs during the actual
process.” Charlotte Gann
See more of Olivia’s work on
Instagram at @olivia.bullock
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