ROSIE LONSDALE

SKT is pleased to present the British artist Rosie Lonsdale in our virtual exhibition Fake Space. Rosie was also a featured artist in our previous exhibition in London, Art Is Why I Wake Up in The Morning (October 14-31).

Rosie is working with photography and film and she is based in Kent. In 2019, she graduated with an MA in Photography, The Image and Electronic Arts from Goldsmith College. Rosie loves to document life both on land and underwater and she focuses on lighting and transforming the mundane. SKT is pleased to have her video artwork entitled, Hold My Breath And Follow The Light, featured in the exhibition.

She shares that at school, she felt lucky to have an art teacher who inspired and supported her in her work. She has been making short experimental films since the age of 16.

Every time Rosie went into the water, she wanted to discover something new. Her experience with a camera underwater was visually different than her experience on land. She would hold her breath and search for dancing light patterns found below the surface. For Rosie, these light patterns transformed the mundane structure of the swimming pool into an unfamiliar space.

Swimming has always been an escape for Rosie and she kept it separate from her artistic work. She never thought that her two creative outlets would merge, but since making her film Hold My Breath and Follow the Light Rosie realised that producing a film is actually very similar to choreographing a routine. She uses the same creative energy to make sure everything flows, is synchronised and most importantly draws the viewers’ attention. 

The swimming pool became Rosie’s place of work. While filming, the artist saw how her body was affected and how her training as a synchronised swimmer became very useful when filming – for example, her ability to hold her breath for a prolonged period of time. She shares that both her filming and underwater experience evolved as she dealt with gravity, the limitations of holding her breath and keeping her camera steady for a nice still shot. 

Normally, Rosie would film by holding the camera underwater or placing it at the bottom of the pool. However, for Hold My Breath and Follow the Light, she tried other options such as a body rig in order to get the tracking shots that she desired. The rig allowed her to swim freely without holding a camera and it made her more aware of how she swam. The film documents her experience and it made her think about the camera in a completely different way. 

Hold My Breath and Follow the Light is structured around sound. Each section is edited with a different soundscape which at times really manipulates the visuals. Rosie avoided using sound typically heard under water as she wanted to focus on using sound as a way of expressing emotions. For example, in the second part of the film, she used the sound of a broken clock combined with an underwater sound as her goal was to build anxiety and create the feeling of losing breath. This way sound allowed Rosie not just to create realism but also to change what the viewer sees and perceives. 

Hold My Breath and Follow the Light consists of three parts with different moods and themes. Creating her film in this manner made Rosie think more about her experience. Showcasing her work in the exhibition Fake Space allows her work to take a new form whilst still emphasising the extraordinary underwater space and transforming it into a new digital experience. 

You can find more of her artworks on her Instagram page. Below is a piece of writing Rosie Lonsdale wrote while making the film in 2019 which reveals her artistic drive and experience. 

“Every Saturday and Tuesday, I go swimming. I have all my equipment with me, swimming costume, hat, goggles and nose clip. I get in via the steps, take a deep breath and immediately dunk myself underwater, escaping to another world. I empty my lungs of air, transforming into several bubbles that float to the top while I sink to the bottom. It is quiet and I feel free. I can see limbs moving effortlessly. A view of a carefully constructed pool with tiles that are worn and broken. I ignore the floating clumps of hair and piles of sand left at the bottom. Once I am below the surface, my eyes dart straight to the reflected light that brought me here in the first place. Drawn to it like a moth, I watch the light dance on the pool floor. It’s mesmerising but dangerous, when I have limited time, and my chest starts to tighten and I move quickly to the surface, quickly and then I breathe. I am fine, I have trained for this. I take a couple more breaths and start again, this time with my camera.” 

[By Stefani Zaharieva]