"A large part of what keeps artists and the wider creative economy going is, in reality, a host of adjacent jobs. When you hang out with other creatives, conversations are always around "visas, rent, side jobs, funding, and survival strategies", Liang shares. "Moonlighting is one of the most common topics; so many artists have so many non-artist jobs they keep quiet about.""
"titled UK indefinite leave to remain application fee (2025), an artwork that speaks to the experiences of the "growing disconnection" they have felt between their everyday reality and their art practice over the past eight years living in London. Liang wanted to see what happens when "art collapses into labour", so they set out to document all of their efforts to save the seemingly insurmountable sum for their application in a time-based work,"
An artwork titled UK indefinite leave to remain application fee (2025) documents a migrant artist's efforts to save for an immigration application fee across eight years in London. The work uses a colourful, live, constantly updating Google Sheets spreadsheet as primary medium, recording side gigs, financial figures, diary entries and reflections. The piece highlights the prevalence of moonlighting and non-artist jobs within the creative economy and challenges stigma around the 'starving artist' stereotype. An accompanying short animated film charts the spreadsheet's changes over time and frames the collapse of art into labour amid the current UK political climate.
Read at Itsnicethat
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]