I am a queer, young creative at the start of my artistic career. The Dover Prize would mean a platform for me to dive deep into my art, to use it as a vehicle for societal change without worrying about how I will be impacted financially.
The core of my practice is to communicate with my audience in physical spaces, my work acting as a catalyst for socially important discourse. I would like to continue this with the Dover Prize, researching and creating a body of art that explores shifting perceptions within the attention economy through my own queer, non-conformist lens. I had touched on these topics briefly during the final module of my masters degree, using the work for a solo exhibition, though I didn’t have the capacity within the confines of education to explore every avenue that the topic could have taken me.
I want the work that I create to be a reflection of humanity, with a surreal twist to draw the viewer into my unique understanding of the world around me. My approach will be playful in both material and scale, taking the opportunity to really go deep into experimentation. I want to ask, what are the limits to what my work could look like?
I then intend to show the collection of work in multiple gallery/community contexts, before moving the work to Darlington. This will allow my work to challenge different subsections of people, while allowing me to gather feedback about whether my art is having the impact that I intended. This will push me towards being the best creative I can possibly be during the Dover Prize and beyond.
Darlington, like all UK locales, could benefit from diversity in the type of creatives, and visual language that it platforms.
As someone that deals with my subject matter in a unique way, I have found that my art does not fit into the molds that have been set by other artists that regularly have their work shown to the public. I think that this is actually a positive thing. My work may not ‘belong’ anywhere, but that can be changed by exposing the public to different forms of artistic expression. In doing so, we can open up different channels of discussion, and help art in the ‘real world’ to appeal to a new demographic.
The arts needs a shake up, and I’d love to help do this in Darlington, with the Dover Prize.
I am a queer, Worcester based Illustrator at the start of my career. My ethos is to remove art from the digital realm; bringing it into physical spaces, making art more accessible on a local scale, whilst removing the stigma that art is unfeasible for budding creatives. I put this into action through participation in community outreach projects and in my solo work, in which I utilise my traditional art practice and facilitation skills to connect with community groups. My solo work centres around themes of self identity within the attention economy, using my illustration as a vehicle to point a finger at societal norms. My community work is in its early phases, focusing on expanding the local arts community and creating a space for diverse creatives to make and display art together, building a live support network in the process. Both facets of my practice involve displaying work in fine art and community contexts, with aspects of live, demonstrative art. I volunteer at Worcester Arts Collective (WAC) as a resident artist and coordinator, working alongside directors Stephanie Green and Richard Nicholls to create, participate in and facilitate collective exhibitions and community projects. With the help of WAC, I have launched ‘Artist Lunches’, a way to help creatives at different levels in their career network and give each other professional advice, hosting this at WAC. Prior to this, I held a MA solo showing of my vast series of conceptual illustration at the Artery Studios, titled ‘Outside the Mass’, utilising surreal motifs as social commentary, communicating my message to a local audience. The work had a strong underlying narrative, and allowed me to start to have deep conversations with my audience. The point of the work was to confront the effect capitalism and consumerist culture has on genuine human connection, using my own visage as a visual motif to help convey my message. Post solo exhibition, my work has appeared multiple times in the Fine Art Gallery in Worcester (both on the walls, and through live, performance art), at CMYK festival and I was involved in Worcester’s Elgar Festival.
I have achieved both a Batchelors degree in Illustration (2:1) and a Masters degree in Visual Communication (Distinction) from Birmingham City University. I have not long graduated with my MA, concluding the course in January 2025.
During my education at Birmingham City University, I was awarded with the ‘MA graduate show award’ for the work I created for one of the exhibition shows held during the duration of the course.
Since leaving education, I have been expanding my network and creating opportunities for myself on a local scale. I volunteer at Worcester Arts Collective, and have been granted permission to hold my own curated exhibition in November called ‘Barter’. This will be a collection of unique work, to defy what it means to be a ‘local artist’. Currently I am contacting artists and sorting out logistics, while creating my own work for the exhibition.
I have also been contacting local events to offer my services as an artist, in order to increase my notoriety. After the submission of the Dover Prize application, I will be drawing live at multiple events during Worcester’s highly regarded ‘Elgar Festival’, ran by the Elgar Society. The work I create will be in real time, overlooked by visitors to the event. I will then create finalised work for the organisers to use as promotional material.
I also have other projects in the forge, to push myself as much as possible.
I have an ongoing partnership with ‘Fine Art Gallery’ in Worcester, owned and ran by local artist Jessica Pahl. This arrangement includes exhibiting and selling my work throughout the year, connecting me with clients and commissions, and mentoring to help me integrate into the arts industry. I also draw live here for an audience, twisting my work into a performative context.
As well as volunteering with Worcester Arts collective, I also have a 6 month residency there. I go there 3-4 times weekly, creating work and collaborating with the permanent residents there. At the end of my residency, I will be holding a solo show to document my artistic progress as well as writing a case study.
Email: ggtaylor_works@outlook.com
Address: 80 Victoria Avenue, Worcester, Worcestershire, WR5 1ED, GB
Local Authority: Worcester County Council
