16 October - 1 November / 3 - 20 December
Thursday - Sunday, 12-6pm

saucysez studied Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art. She currently lives and works in London.

‘when everything has gone to shit.’ invites failure into the room to stay. Instead of rejecting our mistakes and the crappy consequences that come with them, Sez re-imagines what it could be like if we welcomed them in, brought them along with us and introduced them to those we know. In order for us to progress & grow, we must first be open to failure. Why not see it as a cyclical force on a constant axis, spinning and spinning, returning again and again, lending its power to the future? Nothing is static, and the minute you think you have it all figured out, you might as well think again.

An email conversation between saucysez and Robyn Bailey

Robyn Bailey: Well, it has been quite the journey to get your show up and running because of COVID-19. Your show was first postponed when the UK went into lockdown 7 months ago, and then again for a second time quite recently when faced with unexpected circumstances. How has all of this impacted your solo show and the work you have been creating for it?

saucysez: Over the course of this year I’ve fallen in and out of love with making art so many times. At times it’s felt so unnecessary to be creating, either due to personal issues or wider issues that are now being brought to light in the world. As I’m sure with everyone, there’s been some real tough times personally and this has definitely impacted on the work I’ve come to make. In some respects, I’ve had to let go of being so in control. I’m usually quite a perfectionist but with this show I’ve really had to learn to let go and just let it be what it is. The work has a lot to do with failure, overcoming the aftermath of our failures and learning to keep going, and growing in spite of it all the shit. The main thing I’ve taken from this year, and this show is that you have to learn to embrace not knowing what the fuck is coming next.

RB: Has letting go of control and embracing the unknown helped you to discover anything new about your work and creative processes?

S: With this show I knew I had a vision in my head of what I wanted it to look and feel like in the space, but due lots of personal reasons I actually ended up making it all very last minute. I really had to push to get it done, I had fuck all motivation for a lot of it. I kinda got to the space knowing I had made some pieces I believed in, but had no real idea if together it would all work. Once it was all set up, I stood there and thought to myself, ‘Shit, you need to trust yourself a little more.’ I think art school has the ability to make you over question yourself; be so critical at times of ideas. I’ve realised I don’t need to still be carrying so much of that around with me.

RB: The candid way in which you have described your experience of making your solo show work really reinforces the extremely personal and unapologetically bold nature of your practice. A visual aspect of your work that conveys this so fearlessly is your use of language and words. How have language and words come in to play this time?

S: I guess I’d describe this specific writing (which then turned into a spoken word piece as well as visual pieces) for the show as a love letter to myself.
Throughout lockdown, being furloughed I was finding more time to write every morning. It became this daily stream of consciousness which allowed me to question myself, my actions, the way things were and to sometimes find answers or not. It allowed me to write so much more than before and in turn begin to set more of a boundary between what was just for me or for the world. Before this I used to share such a huge amount of my writing online. I came to realise that I needed this boundary moving forward for my own wellbeing. So, this piece was a kind of reckoning with myself, and learning to be kinder to myself in the process. This writing and show as a whole was very much for me, rather than with an audience in mind as such.

RB: Do you think you will approach the making process of future work differently from now on?

S: I imagine so. This feels a little like the beginning and ending of a chapter with my art. I’m not sure where I’m headed next with it and that feels really freeing.

RB: So, when everything has gone to shit, what do you suggest we all do?

S: That’s a big question! I wouldn’t ever wanna answer for everyone. For me personally, over the course of this year I’ve learnt to go inwards a lot more; reflect rather than react. It all comes down to the situation. I think we are constantly searching and growing for new ways to get through the shit. Reminding myself that I’m not static in who I am and that change is a good thin if we want it to be. Not to say that any of this is easy!