Spike Island Open Studios: meet the artists: Keely Hohmann

In the final instalment of our series of interviews with artists based at Spike Island, ahead of the artspace’s ever-popular annual Open Studios event (May 3-6), we catch up with Kelly Hohmann, one of the UWE Fine Art students based in the building.

Hello Keely! Tell us about your art: your inspirations, preoccupations, materials, influences…
I’m just as obsessed with moths as I am irrationally fearful. I have recently employed this fear as an analogy within my work for understanding predatory behaviour that I have experienced.
Writing is always the starting point for my work, I then move on to playing with tactile materials. Finding materials that paint won’t dry on, or that will respond when touched, really interests me, as a visceral response to my work is very important. Elements of performance and sound are also integral to my work.

Tell us what Spike Island means to you as a place to work, connect, socialise, be inspired…
As a student body, we chose the theme Dark Matter to reflect our morals and what we aspire to be as a cohort. In Spike Island, we don’t feel like underdogs or people that are merely holding others up, we feel connected to the surrounding creatives – with studio visits offered to us regularly and even some artists inviting us to give us advice when we leave university. The space holds a down-to-earth, and therefore inspiring atmosphere as you see well-known artists eating the same stew as you in the café.

Keely Hohmann, ‘Concatenate’ (2018),
conductive ink, sound board and speakers

Any memories and impressions from previous Open Studios?
I have participated in Spike Open twice, and I get very excited in the lead up to each Spike Open as I’ve always seen it as the biggest creative event in Bristol. Getting lost in the building is always the best experience: you stumble upon great installations, secret bars and live fashion shows.

And what do you have planned for this year’s event?
Alongside our much-anticipated bar design and Kino project, I’ll be doing a loud, shouty performance inside a metal sculpture!

What do Spike Open Studios mean to you?
The open studios allow for all creatives as part of the building to expose their processes and engage with a community that are as passionate about their work as themselves. Spike Open is especially great for students, because it’s a live test for upcoming assessments – for example, for me as a third-year student, my imminent degree show.
Passions are high and we work together across all levels to create a night that everyone will remember. There is great recognition of the crowds that Spike Open draws, so we try to focus our energies into elevating collaborative work and creating a space where everyone feels welcome and encouraged to engage.

For more on Spike Island Open Studios (May 3-6), visit www.spikeisland.org.uk/programme/events/open-studios-2019

Read more: Spike Island Open Studios: meet the artists: Jo Lathwood