Simon Olmetti
I’m an artist and researcher based in London, originally from Italy. I've just finished a PhD in Fine Arts at the University for the Creative Arts (in partnership with UAL). I’ve gained an MA in Art Photography from Westminster University and studied painting and performance at various institutions, including Central Saint Martins and LADA (Live Art Development Agency).
My practice focuses on queering the land, particularly through spirituality. I'm drawn to liminal spaces like forests, stone circles and other places connected to some form of spirituality and mythology. I consider queering as an act of (re)appropriation and transformation, in order to free it from centuries of patriarchal oppression. My research is guided by the use of queer ecology and eco-feminism, together with neomaterialist and post-natural notions of matter as vibration, energy and intrinsically queer. The aim is to reclaim the land, recuperating the past in order to create new possibilities and futures, through video, photography, drawing, sculptural forms and installations.
Education:
PhD in Fine Arts at University for the Creative Arts, Farnham (in partnership with University of the Arts London), Sep. 2019 – Nov. 2023
Master of Fine Arts, Photography at University of Westminster, London, 2011-2013
Solo Exhibition:
Queer Land(s), James Hockey Gallery, UCA Farnham, Jan-Feb. 2023
Commissions:
Queer Stone Circle, commissioned by Surrey Hills Arts and National Trust, Box Hill, Oct. 2023
Queer Stone Circle, commissioned by William Morris Gallery, London, Feb. 2024
Selected Group Exhibitions:
Visions in the Nunnery, Bow Arts, London, Oct.- Dec. 2022
They/Them/Their: Naturally Not Binary, ITM Gallery, London, Aug. 2022
Queer/in/g/Nature, Ledward Centre, Brighton, May-July 2022
Queer Photography, Ledward Centre, Brighton, Nov. 2021
Practice as Research, UCA Foyer, Farnham, Oct. – Nov. 2021
Materiality and Landscape (second instalment), UCA Project Space Tap Brewery, Folkestone, July 2021
Materiality and Landscape (first instalment), UCA Project Space Tap Brewery, Folkestone, Sep. 2020
Fountayne Road Open Warehouse, London, Aug. 2018
Brighton Photo Fringe, King’s House, Brighton, Oct. 2016
Art Residency Final Show, Stiwdio Maelor, Corris, Wales, Aug. 2016
R.U.N. Experimental Performance Collective, Café Cairo, London, Feb 2016
In the Spirit of Place, St. Mary’s Church, Merton, London, Sep. 2015
In Motion, Stiwdio Maelor, Corris, Wales, May 2015
Open Studio, 47-51 Hawks Road, Kingston-upon-Thames, Nov. 2014
Concours Photo Marseille 2013, 2e et 3e Town Hall of Marseille, France, Mar 2014
MA Final Show, Ambika P3 gallery, 35-100 Marylebone Road, London, Mar 2014
Residencies and prizes:
awarded the Make It Happen's grant by Waltham Forest Arts and Culture, 2023
art residency at Stiwdio Maelor, Corris, Wales, Aug. 2016
shortlisted for the Athens Photo Festival, Greece, July 2015
Tri-pod art project, Brighton, Apr. 2014 – Apr 2015
Publications/articles:
Queer Land(s), https://www.uca.ac.uk/events/galleries/queer-lands/
Nature is Queer, https://www.seasbrighton.org/post/nature-is-queer
They, Them, Their: 'Naturally Not Binary' at IMT gallery, https://awayfromthegrain.com/2022/08/16/they-them-their-naturally-not-binary-at-imt-gallery/
Being LGBTQ+ is the most natural thing in the world, new exhibition on 'queering nature' shows, https://bit.ly/3PpxOn3
Socially Engaged Art Salon (SEAS), https://www.seasbrighton.org/post/simon-olmetti
Folkestone Is an Art School: Matter of Circulation, https://bit.ly/3Qxbc5m and video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsJlpoy_vSw
Queer in Exile (2020), https://queerinexileart.wordpress.com/catalogue/
Stiwdio Maelor artist in residence, https://stiwdiomaelor.com/artist-in-residence-2016/simon-olmetti-england/
Conferences:
Queer Land (Oct. 2021) at the conference Matter of Circulation, part of Folkestone Triennial
Queer Land (Sep. 2021) at the conference Dreaming of Another Place, University of Brighton
Worlds Within Worlds (Sep. 2021) at UCA Farnham
Research Network UAL (Feb. 2021 and Jun. 2020) at University for the Arts London
Queer Futurity (Mar. 2020) at the student-led conference Futurity, at UCA Farnham.
Academic Published articles:
Land, Spirit and Queerness, MeCCSA vol. 16 No. 1 (2023), https://ojs.meccsa.org.uk/index.php/netknow/article/view/673
Continuous Development and Training:
Painting and personal inspiration, Central Saint Martin College of Art, London, Mar. 2018
Cyanotype workshop at OSE (Open School East), London, Nov. 2016
DIY professional development by LADA (Live Art Development Agency): 342843 DavidBowie: Bowie, Stargazing and Performance Writing, Colchester, Sep. 2016
Performance/live art workshop at deLuxe, London, Jun. 2016
Participatory Learning for Young People, a teaching workshop, Community Programme Department, Photofusion, London, May 2016
Performance workshop with Harold Offeh: Play It Again, ArtsAdmin, Toynbee Studios, London, Feb. 2016
Future Focus, Photofusion, part of LCN-London Creative Network, London, Sep. 2015
Screen printing course, London Print Studio, London, Feb. 2015
Wetplate collodion course, Double Negative Darkroom, London, Feb. 2013
Portrait Photography Course, Central Saint Martin College of Art, London, Jun. 2011
Final Cut Pro 7 course at Alchemea College, London, Apr. 2011
Other work:
Visiting Lecturer at UCA and the Royal College of Art
I worked at the Chisenhale Gallery, London as Event Staff and Front of House, Jan. 2017 – Mar. 2019