Steven Wilson takes part in She Light Up the Night
Steven Wilson is one of the artists taking part in a contemporary graphic art auction being organised by creative agency BBH. The auction is raising money for Refuge, the charity which provides support for women and children affected by domestic violence.
The auction itself is on 30 March and is being hosted by art historian and broadcaster Andrew Graham-Dixon, though it is already live online at shelightsupthenight.com
The artworks, all on the theme of female empowerment, were shown at a private view at the Protein gallery in Shoreditch, with limited edition screenprints generating some helpful early sales for Refuge.
We caught up with Steven Wilson to ask him about the initiative:
How did you get involved with She Lights Up the Night?
I was asked by Aine Donovan (founder of the event). We’ve collaborated in the past on both commercial and more personal projects through BBH and They Made This, which is an online visual arts journal and shop that Aine set up.
Had you heard of it before being contacted?
Yes, I was aware of last year’s event and the excellent work that was produced. And, more importantly, I was very keen to be involved because it is for such a great cause.
Are you excited that your work might be given the once-over by Andrew Graham-Dixon?
Absolutely, but it’s also just as well I can’t be there as I’m not sure I could cope with the pressure and embarrassment of seeing my piece auctioned.
Have you a favourite among the pieces being auctioned?
I really liked the piece by Hannah Waldron, and also the Letman screen prints.
Will you be attending the auction?
I would have loved to, but it is also Breed’s 10th anniversary party on the same night, so I can’t be there unfortunately.
Any intention of making a bid yourself?
Yes, maybe one of the pieces I mentioned above. The auction is live online even during the live auction event so I may be bidding online whilst at the Breed party.
Were you aware of the work of Refuge before getting involved with She Lights Up the Night?
Yes, but hearing the representative from Refuge speak at the private view about the numbers of vulnerable people they help every day, and the severity of the cases made me even more aware of the importance of the work that they do.
Tell us a bit about the piece you entered into the auction?
The approach Aine and the team take towards the whole event is very upbeat and positive. I felt from the start that I wanted to create something that had a forward thinking and empowering statement but also something that linked to the title of the show ‘She Lights Up the Night’. I brainstormed a few ideas but settled on ‘Shine On’ as the message to base my piece around.
I created it digitally at first, with the intention of painting it afterwards. As the piece developed it ended up with very graphic clean lines which I wanted to retain in the made piece, and so I had inadvertently created a problem for myself. I am so used to creating work digitally that I had to think quite differently about how I might effectively recreate the piece as an object in such a clean and crisp way. I decided to have the design routed out of white Corian® which is a technique I have never used before. I then filled the recesses that I had routed out using enamel paint as a way of colouring the piece. The whole thing was a bit of a learning curve but I was happy with the results of the technique, so will be trying it on some other artworks. The piece is 120cm wide and 42cm high, and because it’s made primarily from Corian® is very heavy!
