Laura White

Laura’s practice focuses on a negotiation with the world of STUFF, i.e. interactions with materials and objects, exploring ideas of value, profile, association, meaning and behavior of materials, individual and collections of objects.  

Things are explored both as material stuff and anthropological signifiers, that are capable of revealing the human condition - vulnerabilities and capabilities, value systems affected by consumerism and material status, and object/human dependencies.

Her works occupy a fluid space, on one hand demanding critical discourse, and on the other their own ambiguous and intuitive logic.

Teaching

Laura has been teaching on the Fine Art Undergraduate Programme at Goldsmiths since 2006.

She has taught at various Universities including Manchester Metropolitan University, Nottingham Trent University, Loughborough University and London Metropolitan University and has been a visitor at a number of institutions including Glasgow School of Art, Plymouth College of Art and on the Postgraduate Programme at Goldsmiths.

Other responsibilities include external examiner, 2021-24 at London Metropolitan University for MFA Fine Arts, 2018 – 22 at WKAC University of Kent for BA Fine Art, 2012 -16 at Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts for MA Fine Art, MA Photography, MA Art and Science and MRes (Moving Image/Exhibition Studies/Theory and Philosophy) and Mentor on MASS Correspondence Course, Turps, London, 2021.

Professional Projects

Laura’s practice is interdisciplinary and includes:

Studio Based Work - Sculpture, installation and drawing

Recent exhibitions at Tintype and Saatchi Gallery in London, Gallery Cadaqués, Cadaqués, Spain, SPACEX, Exeter, Marlborough Contemporary, London, The Wall House #2, Groningen, Netherlands and King&Bang, Reykjavik, Iceland.

Writing - on material encounters and entanglements with the world of stuff

Laura set up a Website – TENDERFOOT with support from QUAD in Derby (funded by Goldsmiths Research Award) in 2017. This online artwork is a portal for her writing on materiality and a place of research exchange.

Fieldwork - workshops, both participating on and running them

Projects include ‘what it means to handle stuff - auto-pedagogy - a course in butchery’ a collaboration with the Royal College of Art and Raven Row Gallery London, which included a course in butchery lead by a professional butcher who taught Laura, the gallery director and the fine art students butchery techniques.

Laura continually expands her knowledge and experience of the material world, different mind - hand - material - environment negotiations and her interest in the notion of ‘the constant amateur’ through participating on skill based courses including fish knife skills, taxidermy, baking, butchery, basket weaving, pot throwing and fishing.

Academic qualifications

• 2004 MA Fine Art, Goldsmiths College, London. 
• 1997 MA Fine Art, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham. 
• 1990 BA (Hons) Fine Art: Sculpture.
• Loughborough University School of Art and Design

Featured publication

• Laura White: The Stuff of Images. Castlefield Publications, (Corner House Distribution) ISBN 978-0-9559557-1-6, 2009