Did you always want to be a fine artist?

For as long as I can remember I had always wanted to pursue art. There was a brief time where I wanted to be a forensic scientist, short-lived given how bad I was at exams. Before I started university, I toyed with ideas of doing illustration, or even doing an academic course alongside an art one, but after my foundation year, I was set on doing Fine Art. I preferred the freedom with it; the lack of restrictive briefs and experimentation it encouraged. I could have done three years of just drawing, but what’s the point? I wanted to explore things I’d never done before. When you’re an artist, you are part of a giant network of people that all share a passion for making, but have different interests within that field, so it allows for discussion and critique.



It can be a brave decision to study an arts course at university when the majority of your peers go on to gain traditional, academic degrees – did you feel you missed out on traditional ‘uni life’?

It was tough doing a subject that none of my friends did. I was an outsider, looking in on their first year experiences when I was in my foundation. I knew my experience was going to be extremely different to theirs; I was going to be in uni every day from 10am to 10pm, and have no time for societies. I couldn’t relate to my friends in that sense, but it was worth it to be studying something I’m passionate about.



Were you exposed to many practicing female artists over your three-year course?

Not really, visiting artists all tended to be male which was a shame, and we had double the number of male tutors than female on the course. I was only ever allocated the male tutors and it seems strange when I reflect, that I had such little contact with women. I think there were actually more female students than male too.

‘You Don’t Own Me’ was created as part of Meghan’s final degree show at MMU, exploring the lack of female representation within the art world. The TV displayed a man scratching his pubes, while names of all artists who have been exhibited on the Fourth plinth (a public exhibition spot), flashed up on the screen

‘Everybody Needs a Bosom For a Pillow’ explores the relationship of consent via two palm-sized boob cushions

Does it irritate you that Manchester has such a male identity, despite how many amazing women artists there are working there?

Oh definitely! It seems like there’s a man behind almost anything anyone does in Manchester, which I became more aware of after graduating. Men have a very overpowering voice here, specifically an older generation. It was slightly daunting staying in Manchester after my degree because it seemed impossible to make a break-through as a young female artist, but I think it is slowly starting to shift. Manchester is currently very cliquey, but younger people are beginning to stick around and in doing so, are helping change the art scene from its classically elitist and nepotistic ways. There are so many great women in Manchester doing great things, and I feel women are starting to make a change here.



Tell me about the boob related work you made for your degree show

My initial experiment called ‘Everybody Needs a Bosom For a Pillow’ was to make a pair of tits that were like cushions – they were made to fit in the palm of your hand. Made from pink fabric filled with stuffing, they had a hand-embroidered care label that read ‘Do not touch unless given consent’ and sewn onto the front of the cushions were latex casts of nipples. I made them as a little giggle to myself but then thought about the broader context of them relating to consent, and the urge to grab something; the childlike nature of them and referring to the actual function of a breast. The work transformed into me making these larger ‘cushions’ for my degree show work. ‘Squeeze Box’ and ‘You Don’t Own Me’ were soft sculptures of plinths that had a pair of tits on the front, again with latex nipples and care labels. I made these while thinking about the role of the plinth; something that exists just to support something of greater importance, and so transferred this to the idea of the female, and how men think women are only there to support them. ‘You Don’t Own Me’ was to show the lack of female representation within the art world and the TV displayed a man scratching his pubes, while names of all artists who have been exhibited on the Fourth plinth (a public exhibition spot in London), flashed up on the screen.

Lino print, Meghan Smith

How have you found the transition from education to working life?

The hardest thing I’ve done! It’s almost been a year out of uni for me and I’m still not used to it. During your degree, you are continually making something or completing an assignment, but once you’re out, there are no deadlines, no tutors to please ¬¬– it’s just you. You have to make sure that you are still thinking about making art and going to the studio, no matter what. I’ve currently challenged myself to make 30 works of art in 30 days to keep creating.



Do you think it is vital to be part of a collective as a freelance artist?

It definitely helps. It’s important to collaborate and open up discussions with people and build those relationships. I’m currently a studio holder at COLLAR studios, which is an artist led space, run and created by the curatorial collective COLLAR. They have a gallery space in the same building, Wellington Mill in Ancoats, and they are launching a new programme very soon. The collective opened the studios about a year ago, and there are eight artists, including myself, who work in a range of different materials.

London-based artist Alfi Kungo’s work exhibited in‘Th-the-th-that’s all folks!’
at Castlefield Gallery, Manchester. Curated by Rhino Agogo

Tell me about the recent exhibition you curated

Liam Fallon, Tulani Hlalo, Emily Chapman and I all have studios at COLLAR, and we all studied together on the same Fine Art course. We came together to form the Rhino Agogo collective and curated ‘Th-the-th-that’s all folks!’ at the Castlefield Gallery. We wanted to feature artists from across the UK, instead of exhibiting Mancunian artists or our own work which would be fueling the nepotism within the city.



Do you owe a lot of your success to a strong female support network of friends?

Definitely! I shared a studio in third year with five of my best friends, all female, so there were lots of times I’d be having a meltdown, and I knew I could count on any of them to be there to help me. My creative circle mainly consists of really great women, so there’s a lot of girl power in my life. It’s great because amongst this female support network there is no judging, and everyone is utterly unapologetic about who they are which is inspiring and helpful towards being the best version of myself. I definitely wouldn’t have made it through university without all those amazing women!



Would you recommend a career as a fine artist?

If it is your passion, then I would say go for it! Studying Fine Art isn’t for everyone, and most already know this before starting their degree at uni. Some people are fortunate enough to be able to leave uni and make art as their sole income, and that’s not the reality for most people. Pursuing art is complicated and draining at times, but everyone that chooses that path does it because they love it. They don’t care that they didn’t sell all their degree show work to Saatchi or that some fancy gallery in London is not representing them; it’s a way of life and everyone accepts the struggles that come with it and just try and stay sane in the process.

@mynameismeghansmith