Instagram Takeover: Melanie King

Exploring the intrinsic connection between humans, materials and phenomena existing beyond the Earths' atmosphere, Melanie King shares new works and ideas as part of our Instagram takeover, April 2018.

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Born in Manchester, UK in 1988, Melanie King is an artist and curator with a specific focus on astronomy. She is co-Director of super/collider, Lumen Studios and the London Alternative Photography Collective. Melanie is currently studying towards a practice based PhD in Fine Art at the Royal College of Art. She is a graduate of the MA in Art and Science at Central Saint Martins and the BA Fine Art at Leeds Art University.

Ancient Light, Atina, Italy, 2017. Ancient Light is a series of analogue photographs, considering how photons emitted from distant stars can be physically absorbed into photographic silver gelatin film. ? @melaniekatking

A post shared by Photoworks (@photoworks_uk) on Apr 21, 2018 at 4:01am PDT

Ancient Light, Vik, Iceland, 2018. In February, I participated in the SIM Residency in Reykjavik and took the Straeti bus to Vik, during one of the rare days without a snow storm! I spent two days scoping out places to shoot the snowy mountains at night. It was incredible to walk around such beautiful starlit landscapes alone. @melaniekatking

A post shared by Photoworks (@photoworks_uk) on Apr 22, 2018 at 2:23am PDT

Melanie’s inaugural solo exhibition was held at Leeds Art University in 2017. Melanie held her first London-based solo show at the Blyth Gallery, Imperial College London in January 2018. She has exhibited in group shows at The Photographers’ Gallery, Argentea Gallery, Guest Projects, Space Studios and the Sidney Cooper Gallery. Melanie has also exhibited in a wide range of international galleries and has taken part in a number of international residencies to develop aspects of her practice. Most recently, Melanie attended the SIM Residency in Reykjavik, Iceland to take photographs of stars and aurora borealis.

Melanie has been involved in a number of large scale commissions. These commissions include a giant eclipse installation at Green Man Festival with Lumen Studios and large scale cyanotypes with the London Alternative Photography Collective. She has also worked with Louise Beer to curate the Museum of Sleep at Citizen M Hotel, in association with Bompas and Parr and super/collider. In December 2017, Melanie was commissioned by COS Stores to write a piece “On Bubbles” in association with Design Miami and Studio Swine.

Ancient Light, Atina, Italy, 2017. This photograph was taken during the @lumen_london residency, focused on astronomy. A group of us wandered through the trees, to get a good look at the Milky Way and shooting stars. I am speaking with the @royalphotographicsociety at @vamuseum tomorrow, if you’d like to come along and find out more about my practice. @melaniekatking

A post shared by Photoworks (@photoworks_uk) on Apr 20, 2018 at 3:23pm PDT

Campo Catino Observatory, Italy, 2017. Part of my Ancient Light series, a series of analogue photographs of the night sky. The main inspiration for this project is the idea of light travelling for thousands/millions of years , through the depths of space before reaching my film and camera.

A post shared by Photoworks (@photoworks_uk) on Apr 21, 2018 at 3:00am PDT

Melanie regularly presents her work at conferences, universities and galleries. Notable venues include The Photographers’ Gallery, TATE Exchange, International Space University: Space Studies Programme, University of the Arts Helsinki, London College of Communication, London LASER: Central Saint Martins, London South Bank University, Kosmica: Mexico, Kosmica: Paris, Helsinki Photomedia, Second Home, Soho House, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Uncertain States and Photoforum.

Melanie also organises participatory workshops in relation to her practice. She has developed workshops for the Whitechapel Gallery, The Photographers’ Gallery, TATE Exchange, the Institute of Physics, East Street Arts, Kosmica: Mexico, SALT Festival: Norway, London College of Communication Short Courses, Photofusion, Phytology, Hackney Arts, Ditto Press and Brighton Photo Biennial.

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