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MEMBERS

Multidisciplinary Artist

West Dunbartonshire (vale of leven), Scotland

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Katie McGroarty

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I am interested in the intersection of sociology and art; the study of class politics, and employment of hierarchies within the context of art and life, frequently characterised by an overwhelming denial of such hierarchies. 


In my work I attempt to challenge the hierarchies where socialist views are performatively held in veiling deep rooted elitism. I present viewers with stark contrasts in displaying “bad” art; almost goading the viewer to say that "bad" drawings in permanent marker on foolscap cannot be art, and in doing so, force them to reflect on the roots of this critique. 


The use of permanent marker in my work is a reference to the first independent creative endeavours of many lower-class people. I want to challenge the viewer on their conceptions of "art" by evoking connotations of graffiti and vandalism, juvenile delinquency, idle-mindedness and recklessness. I have found that the myth that creativity was reserved for the upper-classes is conditioned into us at a young age and forms how we see ourselves and our perceived limitations. This is why the use of permie is essential in my work, as it highlights biases as to who is, and who is not, afforded creativity.


My work is made with permie by a lower/working class queer woman artist in the post-industrial, poverty stricken, "Worst Place to Be a Woman in Scotland" setting of a council scheme in the Vale of Leven, West Dunbartonshire. In my practice, I intend to highlight that, in the current political and socio-economic climate, separating art from the artist is a luxury we can no longer afford. 



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