S5 Ep2: David Stewart

Art CastSeries 6 Episode 5: Ella Fleck Art Cast is a podcast series of informal discussions with professional artists and designers, presented by Matt Gee, Deputy Head of Art, joined by students from Morley College London, Hamish Cowan and Constanze Velvet Love Sedano. In this series finale, we are joined by Ella Fleck, an artist and writer based in London whose work explores the psychosexual structures of contemporary life. Working across installation, writing, sound, language, scent and digital platforms, her practice examines desire, control, persuasion, and the ways people are influenced by both technology and one another. Ella studied English at the University of Exeter and is currently completing an MFA at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her work has been exhibited internationally, with projects and exhibitions across the UK, Europe, the United States and Japan.

Art CastSeries 6 Episode 4: Darren Cullen Art Cast is a podcast series of informal discussions with professional artists and designers, presented by Matt Gee, Deputy Head of Art, joined by students from Morley College London - Chelsea Centre. This Episode is led by Imane Bouziane and we are also joined by BA Fine Art peer Ekatrina Egorushkina. For today’s episode we’re joined by Darren Cullen, artist and activist whose work takes a sharp, satirical look at everything from advertising and consumer culture to military recruitment and the stories we’re sold from a young age. Born in Leeds in 1983, Darren works across installation, publishing, film, and performance, often using humour as a way to expose much darker social realities.

Art CastSeries 6 Episode 3: Babak GanjeiArt Cast is a podcast series of informal discussions with professional artists and designers, presented by Matt Gee, Deputy Head of Art, joined by students from Morley College London - Chelsea Centre. This Episode is led by Imane Bouziane and we are also joined by BA Fine Art peer Hamish Cowan.Today we are joined by Babak Ganjei, an artist, writer and musician who turns everyday thoughts, jokes and anxieties into the artwork itself.Among his most notable achievements are publishing two acclaimed books with Rough Trade Books, including Art Is The Thing Nobody Asked You To Do, as well as creating short films for Channel 4 and appearing in multiple BBC Radio 4 programmes with his son Arthur.He gave a talk on the 18th of March to students from a variety of courses about his work, in Morley waterloo. He studied at Central Saint Martins, but his work moves away from that kind of traditional polish and instead leans into something more immediate and diaristic. He’s exhibited in London galleries like Transition Gallery and The Sunday Painter while also showing in more informal spaces like Doomed Gallery. Across text based paintings, drawings, comics, and books, his works read like fragments of an inner monologue, funny, self-aware and sometimes uncomfortable, sitting somewhere between stand-up, notes app entries and conceptual art while quietly questioning what art is supposed to be and who it’s really for.

Art CastSeries 6 Episode 2: Nicolas DeshayesArt Cast is a podcast series of informal discussions with professional artists and designers, presented by Matt Gee, Deputy Head of Art, joined by students from Morley College London - Chelsea Centre.Today we are joined by Nicolas Deshayes, with Kiran Nangla and Kirsten Newbigging from our BA Creative Practice in Fine Art.Nicolas Deshayes works in sculpture to explore the form and materiality of bodies and what happens beneath their surfaces. Process, or processing materials, drives his practice, where materials convey states of liquid, solidity, heat, and tension. His sculptures evoke vital systems of ingestion, circulation, and transformation through elegantly considered forms that feel organic, functional, and uncanny, all at once.Surfaces are consistently sealed and tactile, recalling domestic, civic, or architectural infrastructures.

Art CastSeries 6 Episode 1: Mark LeckeyArt Cast is a podcast series of informal discussions with professional artists and designers, presented by Matt Gee, Deputy Head of Art, joined by students from Morley College London - Chelsea Centre.We are joined by Mark Leckey. We are also joined by student guests from our Fine Art Degree, Daniel Gismera, who is currently in his first year, and Imane Bouziane, who is in her second year with us.Mark visited the studios ahead of this recording to spend time with the students and gave a Penny Lecture to students from across the college, on his work.Mark Leckey is a British contemporary artist whose work spans video, sound, performance and installation. His practice often draws on found imagery, pop culture and personal memory, exploring themes of nostalgia, desire, anxiety and the emotional charge carried by images, music and objects. Leckey has described his approach as allowing culture to move through him, sitting at a point where art and life blur into one another.

Art CastSeries 5 Episode 6: John Costi Trigger Warning: This episode includes discussion of topics some people might find triggering including suicide, and rape. Art Cast is a podcast series of informal discussions with professional artists and designers, presented by Matt Gee, Programme Area Manager of Fine Art, joined by students from Morley College London - Chelsea Centre. In this episode we are joined by John Costi, a multidisciplinary artist whose life and work epitomises resilience, creativity, and community engagement. Born in 1987 and raised in London, John draws upon his Cypriot and Irish heritage to inform his art, which spans sculpture, installation, painting, and performance. His work critically examines themes of upbringing, class, and masculinity, often inviting audiences to become active participants in the artistic experience.  John's journey into the art world is both profound and inspiring. While serving a 6 year sentence at HM Young Offender Institution Feltham, he encountered Koestler Arts—the UK's leading prison arts charity. This engagement marked the beginning of a transformative path: from a participant in prison art programs to a mentee, scholar, arts worker, judge, and eventually, co-curator of Koestler Arts' annual exhibition at the Southbank Centre last December, which I saw and was absolutely fantastic.   In 2022, John earned an MA in Fine Art from Central Saint Martins and was selected for the South London Gallery's post-graduate residency program. He now operates from his studio on his Residency at Somerset House, continuing to create art that challenges hierarchies of art experience and fosters community dialogue.   The South London Gallery stated on Costi’s work; Costi’s work is rooted in healing and transformation. Using play and conversation to create artworks that bring people together and form social connections, he often takes found objects to create sculptures and installations, a practice he refers to as ‘Culture-Mating’. He uses spoken word in his practice, and also creates characters and environments that draw on his personal heritage and experiences growing up to celebrate London’s traditions and histories  Costi also heads crime diversion groups in probations and prisons.   You can learn more about his work at  www.johncostiart.com 

Art CastSeries 5 Episode 5: Stefanie Posavec Art Cast is a podcast series of informal discussions with professional artists and designers, presented by Matt Gee, Programme Area Manager of Fine Art, joined by students from Morley College London - Chelsea Centre. In this episode we are joined by Designer, Stefanie Posavec. Stefanie is a London-based information designer specializing in non-traditional representations of data, turning complex information into intuitive, artistic, and often hand-drawn visual experiences. Born in 1981, she studied Graphic Design at Colorado State University before earning a Master of Arts in Communication Design from Central Saint Martins in London. It was during her time at CSM that she discovered her passion for using data as a design material. 

Art CastSeries 5 Episode 4: Lindsey Mendick Art Cast is a podcast series of informal discussions with professional artists and designers, presented by Matt Gee, Programme Area Manager of Fine Art, joined by students from Morley College London - Chelsea Centre. In this episode we're looking into the world of Lindsey Mendick, an artist from London who is now based in Margate who makes ceramic sculptures and immersive installations.Lindsey's work intertwines personal narratives with elements of the everyday and the extraordinary. Lindsey's installations often feature hand-built ceramics, stained glass, and performance elements, creating environments that invite viewers into her world. Through her art, she offers a form of catharsis, encouraging reflection on personal experiences and the shared human condition.

Art CastSeries 5 Episode 3: Katja Novitskova Art Cast is a podcast series of informal discussions with professional artists and designers, presented by Matt Gee, Programme Area Manager of Fine Art, joined by students from Morley College London - Chelsea Centre. In today’s episode, we are joined by Katja Novitskova. Born in Tallinn, Estonia, Katja Novitskova is an installation artist whose work investigates how media shapes our understanding of the world. One of her most significant achievements was representing Estonia at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017 with her exhibition If Only You Could See What I’ve Seen with Your Eyes. The project examined the intersections of big data, vision, and ecological crisis, highlighting the ways in which technology mediates our understanding of the environment.

Art CastSeries 5 Episode 2: David Stewart Art Cast is a podcast series of informal discussions with professional artists and designers, presented by Matt Gee, Programme Area Manager of Fine Art, joined by students from Morley College London - Chelsea Centre. In today's episode we are joined by Photographer and Director, David Stewart. We are also accompanied by Suu-ki Coward, from the third year of our Fine Art Degree.  David Stewart is a British photographer and director known for his surreal and often humorous large-format portraits. His career began photographing tourists on Morecambe promenade and capturing punk bands like The Clash and The Ramones as they performed at local venues.