I'm Poppy Scoulding.
I am an Artist. This is My Practice.
Bodies of practice
Bodies of Practice was an exhibition in 2018 to celelbrate half way through our degree. The exhibition consisted of 39 young artists, showing work of their own choice - varying in mediums and subject.
Scoulding's work focused on a very personal place and was coded to the audeience. The final piece consisted of 5 pallets in a room with different writings on them and colours the artist associates with. Here are some samples of this work.
Drowning fish
"Everyone says to focus on the future, the things infront of you and not the past... butI can't help but look at the past and think what a mess my life has already been? Is that why we shouldn't dwell on the past? Because like a fish being pulled backwards, the realism of an existental crisis suffocates us like water in gills and the future we are building for ourselves suddenly dies?"
Good Moring Early Bird
"5 O'clock in the morning, a low hum of an engine graces my ears as I sit in the window with the freezing morning air biting my cheeks, laid in a mound of pillows and duvets, a protective fort from my dark and sleepless night. Lights shine on the surrounding houses as the first human leaves the street to start an early morning's work. A low buzz of students talking, stumbling home after a night out - numbing my ears as the deep clouds move away to reveal a morning that will soon be forgotten in a cup of tea and fag."
Magnets
"Pink muscles interlocked. Gentle touching, delicate fingers through tangled hair. Stubble tickling millimetres of skin before contact with more. Eyelids closed, hips even closer, pulled in like a magnet to metal. Heartbeat accelerating, holding breaths. Climbing mount Everest, reaching the top of the icy paths. Then, suddenly, a bolt of electricity shooting through veins. Interlocking, over and over. Exchange of saliva, tongues slowly peeking through. Hands slowly pulling away. Magnets repelling. Smiles of white, seeing the light in each other's souls as our eyes open. It may have been seconds but it felt like forever. The best forever."
Chewing Gum
"The world is full of people who will try and tear us down. Within a thousand compliments and words of praise there is always one or two that sticks us because they are awful, they grind on your bones and make you feel like shit. The worst kind of people in this world, other than misogynists like Trump, are those who we think we can trust. Or at least we thought we could. These people are not snakes, they are just general scum, no, they're more like chewed up gum that sticks to your soul and is impossible to get off. They make you believe that they care and have the best of intentions for you, then they cling to your soul until it's peeling away dragging all your emotions and memories with it. They make you believe things that of course are not true. And when you asking them to stop clouding your head and let go of your shoe, the gum turns into a camouflaged awful dirt colour, blending into the scuffs of wear and tear on your shoes anyway. Until one day, the gum comes back again and it's a whole new drama. Melt the gum off. Or just be more careful where you tread."
Sanity
"Tea restores my sanity. Smoking enables me to breathe again. Food restores my energy and alcoholic beverages allow me to think creatively. Anti-depressants allow me to feel no darkness. Sleeping allows me to forget the day. The night allows me to start again when I awake. My clothes allow me to cover my naivety. My makeup allows me to hide behind a mask. Tea restores my sanity. Paint allows me to make a mess. My pen allows me to speak my mind. Paper allows me to share my thoughts."