Biography
Fiona is now living in London and is studying a Fine Art BA at Wimbledon College of Art, part of the University of the Arts, London.
“The main motivation for my work is to encourage people to look at their worlds in a different way and to explore their surroundings with a kind of childhood excitement. I would love the opportunity to encourage a new way of looking into more people’s lives. I like to focus on the everyday and bring a new twist to it, to explore a new way of perceiving.
My current work focuses on an investigation into what the archaeology of the future might be, following an apocalyptic event. What might the resulting population make of and from the relics we leave behind from our everyday lives? How ingenious might they be? What might their belief systems suggest? What is it like to live “After day X”? I focus on a point just beyond survival, examining the functionality of objects and the ingenuity of humankind. Using objects which are familiar to us and combining them with ancient bush-craft techniques, the resulting sculptures feel both comfortable and uncanny at the same time, encouraging the viewer to keep looking and place themselves in our time and place and to heighten their awareness of the world they live in now.
I’m preoccupied by the interaction between man and nature and so the weathering of these objects used in the sculptures is important in the aesthetic and the concept. I place myself in an almost meditative state when I make this work, crouching on the floor, scrabbling through the objects I’ve collected, trying to make sense of them in a different way; thinking about practicality or spiritual significance through a mixture of initiative based and aesthetic decisions. Considering the potential meaning of what is gathered together. I trawl the streets looking for materials. It’s an obsession!”
All works not marked sold are for sale and Fiona also takes commisions. All work is for sale between £40 - £80 for an unframed drawing. Between £150 - £650 for a painting.
Please email me at fionalong at gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing some artwork or would like to make an appointment to view my studio. Any interested buyer is invited to view works personally or to request more photographs to be sent by email.
Also email me your comments, these are always very welcome
Fiona Long Biography
Work Experience
• Running a children’s collage workshop as part of the Wandle Valley Festival. June 2009
• Volunteer for River and Cloth: eco-dyeing workshops in schools and the community June 2009
• Cannizaro PARK 09. Public site specific work May 2009
• Steward at the ICA for Terry Smith’s Word Play event. May 2009
• Taking part in and also later leading a team for a music and drawing improvisation workshop for Merton Council in Colliers Wood Recreation Ground in association with POST artists. May 2009
• Leading a collaborative painting and drawing event. March 2009
• Member of POST artists: Contemporary artists setting up site and context specific projects in Merton, London and further afield.
• Assistant researcher for Tate Encounters in spectatorship, culture and context.
• ArtQube at the Event Show at Kensington Olympia. Painting a huge canvas live in front of an audience. Feb 2009
• Artist assistant to Simon Callery for his recent archaeological body of artwork. Dec 2008-March 2009
• Pagoda Project; exhibition set up and guiding the public for this 3D animation by Matthew Roberts being shown in an ex-atomic bomb testing laboratory in Orford Ness, a National Trust site in Suffolk August 2008
• Drawing Marshall, Draw Cut Tear, a project by Terry Smith at Wimbledon College of Art October 2008
• Assisted putting up the 2008 Degree Show at Wimbledon College of Art.
• Student Ambassador, guiding prospective students around Wimbledon College of Art 2008
• Gallery Assistant and framer at Beaulieu Fine Arts 2006-2007
Education
• Currently: Second/Third year of a Fine Art BA at Wimbledon College of Art, UAL.
• 2007 Foundation Diploma in Art and Design; Kensington and Chelsea College; Distinction
• 1999 BSc Psychology; University of Wales, College of Cardiff; 2:2
Exhibitions
2009
• Catch by the Eye, Save in the Heart, 3 Bedfordbury Gallery, Covent Garden, London, 2nd-8th June 2009
• Post Consumer Material Culture:End of year show, Wimbledon College of Art 25th-29th May 2009
• PARK ’09; site based exhibition at Cannizaro Park, Wimbledon; 15-18th May 2009
• Telephone Box Galleries: Balloons. Show at Wimbledon College of Art showing the public’s reactions to the site based installation. In collaboration with Nichol Keene.
• Telephone Box Galleries: Balloons. Site based installation in collaboration with Nichol Keene.
• After Day X; Solo library display, Wimbledon College of Art, 30th January-20th March
• Big Bad Scene, Bedroom Bar, Shoreditch, London, 5th March
• Deutche Postbank Exhibition, Deutche Postbank, London, February-August 2009
• Spirit of Romance, Eaton Terrace Gallery, Belgravia, London 26th- 30th January
2008
• Five Day Projects, Fin, Wimbledon College of Art, London, 28th November
• Five Day Projects, Suspense, Wimbledon College of Art, London, 27th November
• Five Day Projects, Conversation, Wimbledon College of Art, London, 25th November
• Deutche Postbank Exhibition, Deutche Postbank, London; August 2008-February 2009
• Art For Youth; The Mall Galleries, London; 7th-9th October 2008
• Aujourd’hui; Selected foyer show at Wimbledon College of Art; October 2008
• Representations of Identity, The Women’s Art Movement; Islington Arts Factory, London; 8th August – 5th September 2008
• End of Year Show; Wimbledon College of Art, London; May 2008
• Catch by the Eye, Save in the Heart; Artspace Galleries, Mayfair, London; 4th-11th May 2008
• State of the Art Competition Exhibition; Royal College of Art, London; 17th March 2008
2007
• Art For Youth; The Mall Galleries; 9th–11th October 2007
• End of Year Show; Kensington and Chelsea College, London; 20th June 2007
2006
• Ritzy Art Fair, The Ritzy Cinema, London, 25th November 2006
• Remembrance; Unofficial site specific artwork outside the Tate Modern, London; 11th November 2006
• Tommy Johnson Portrait Unveiling; Regency Hotel, Jackson, Mississippi, USA, 20th October 2006
• Art For Youth; The Mall Galleries, London; 10th-12th October 2006
• Brompton Oratory Art Fair; Brompton Oratory, London; 7th September 2006
• Centre Group of Artists Exhibition; Lyndhurst Community Centre, 31st May-5th June 2006
2004
• Catch by the Eye, Save in the Heart; Marie Curie Building, Warsaw, Poland; August 2004
• Catch by the Eye, Save in the Heart; Menier Chocolate Factory, London, April 2004
Awards
• Finalist in the London Calling juried competition for myartspace.com
• Winner of Merton photography competition, run by Merton Council May 2009
• Finalist in the State of the Art competition for the Princes Trust held at the Royal College of Art 2008
• Shortlisted (1/3) for the Peter Stanley Memorial Award 2007
Publications
• ArtWanted Animals/Wildlife 2008 Calendar
