Meet Donna Lowson, working class artist.

Love Sheffield - Inspiring Characters

In this, the first of our interviews for Love Sheffield, we explore the motivations that drive our friend and artist Donna Lowson as she prepares for her upcoming exhibition titled INCONSPICUOUS.

Who do you know, who inspires you by the way they meet life's challenges, and continue to give their energy to helping others in creative ways? Please let us know and we will connect with them.

To go with the article below, I had a great chat with Donna in her studio - I think this is a powerful way to share her story. I hope you will enjoy.

Donna Lowson

Artist

Peering into the gaps of systems and power structures to see what lies at the core

My name is Donna Lowson. A mature neurodivergent working-class woman currently studying a BA Hons in fine art at Sheffield Hallam University. I am excited to be hosting my first solo exhibition INCONSPICUOUS in my hometown of Sheffield this July, which is FREE AND OPEN TO ALL, and I would love it if you were able to join me.

INCONSPICUOUS

2-4 Matilda Street, Sheffield, S1 4QY

12th to 21st July

Wed to Saturday 12-6

Sunday 11-4

Launch event:

12th July 6-8-pm

Free hot, cold and alcoholic beverages and snacks

Everyone welcome.

Interview

Can you share the genesis of your journey as a multi-disciplinary, conceptual art activist and how your background has shaped your practice?

Being a creative maker has been the fibre of my being since hammering nails into wood as a young child alongside my father whilst he created elaborate woodwork sculptures in the attic he had boarded out. There was no money to build a garage or a work shed. He worked with what he had. He fixed things; we didn’t buy new. Clothes were often handed down between families and friends. There was community spirit, a sense of belonging. People helped each other. My father has always inspired me, and I wish he could see himself through my eyes. Art has always been important to me, yet there was a preconception that an art career would not provide job security, which is essential for a working-class person with no surplus cash floating around. In addition, the art world was and still can be a pompous place, leaving a sour taste of not belonging or not being good enough to occupy those spaces. This feeling of not being good enough or not belonging underpins and has shaped my practice.

How does your neurodivergence influence your creative practice and the narratives you explore in your work?

My neuro divergence was not diagnosed until I began my journey into art education at 43 years old. Looking back, this impacted my sense of ability growing up, adding to the already sense of being other or of less value due to my social class. Realising that I am not unintelligent and just learn differently has been liberating and disheartening.

Upon reflection, I realise the missed opportunities due to a misjudgement from my perception of self and the judgement from others. This misjudgement stems from a place of not looking, questioning, and accepting what we are told or feel as fact. This realisation has made me more observant of everything that surrounds me daily. It’s almost like I’ve spent most of my life in a bubble of ignorance that has burst open. It sounds refreshing, but it can be horrifying as we peel back the layers of what surrounds and affects us daily.

You mention symbolism, association, idioms, and metaphors as being central to your creations. Can you provide an example of a piece where these elements particularly stand out?

Symbolism, association, idioms, and metaphors can be abstract ways of looking. For example, if I say it is raining cats and dogs, we understand it as raining heavily. Essentially, they can obscure the literal meaning of the words, just as many systems or power structures do, thus creating a veil over the real intentions of things. They are a playful way of encouraging the spectators to look deeper within the works.

An excellent example is ‘comes out in the Wash’, a film and installation piece. Exploring corruption within mass media, this work asks us if the definition of dirty is dishonest, then can washing be a metaphor for revealing hidden truths?

The association of mirrors and reflection can be seen in my ‘Mirror Mirror on the Wall’ installation. It challenges its symbolism as our reflection depends on physical and psychological viewpoints and questions the systems underpinning our perception.

How do you navigate the complex entanglements, frictions, and tensions of our current social and political climate in your art?

The first place of investigation always stems from embodied experience and curiosity about my past and current everyday observations. Ranging from the ever-increasing food and fuel prices, the graffiti on the walls, hostile architecture, TV, social media, and lectures to observing the homeless people of Sheffield on my commute. This initial curiosity generally sparks ideas for creating. From there, I holistically research, explore and investigate, checking my thoughts, beliefs, and biases to reach what lies at the core. Throughout the making process, other ideas often become available to me, which invokes more research. It is like a rollercoaster with no beginning or end; it just evolves. One thing leads to another.

Can you share your process of peering into the gaps in systems and power structures? What systems or structures have you recently explored?

My process for peering into the gaps in systems and power structures is the same as above. When we stop and take a more critical look at the everyday, it is often a part of some system or power structure. Most recently, I have been exploring the corruption within mass media and government, censorship from freedom of speech, hostile architecture, and anti-homeless design. Previous systems have included fatphobia, internalised stigma and the regulation and objectification of women’s bodies.

How have your themes evolved over time, particularly from investigating internalised stigma and the regulation of women’s bodies to consumerism and generational poverty?

The themes within my work have revolved in response to what is relevant or important to me at the time of making. The investigation of internalised stigma and the regulation of women’s bodies came from looking at and reflecting on my past experiences with these issues in which consumerism is deeply rooted and connected. In short, consumerism relies on a desire to sell products and uses dominant and often unrealistic ideologies to market that desire.

A potent example is the Touches of Freedom campaign by Edward Bernays, Sigmund Freud’s nephew, who manipulated a nation of women into smoking when it wasn’t publicly acceptable for women to smoke. He staged a dramatic display of women suffragettes smoking during a parade to show they were equal to men and referred to the cigarettes as touches of freedom.

My investigation into generational poverty is a more recent and ongoing response to the homeless people of Sheffield, the cost-of-living crisis, and an investigation into the sustainability of the existing systems in place to deal with this.

You mention your use of found and disregarded objects as a form of resistance against mass production and throw-away culture. Can you share more about the transformation process of these products?

Disregarded and thrown-away objects are regarded as unwanted and of less value—the use of these items in my practice questions where we place value in capitalist ideology. The transformation process, therefore, is a transformation in value. Although sometimes, this transformation is also visual, like my bus ticket sculptures created by my subconscious on my daily commute, cast in bronze, questioning how we value travel and connection, the temporalities of time, throw away culture and the debris of every day.

How does your process of deconstructing and reassembling inform your practice on the themes you explore?

The deconstructing and reassembling process helps to create different and varied perspectives to explore and sometimes opens me up to other ideas or ways of thinking or researching.

You note the importance of creating immersive and interactive experiences using the debris of everyday life. Can you share an example of such a work and the viewer’s reaction to it?

My ‘Mirror Mirror on the Wall’ installation was an excellent example, which was first shown at the CORTEX exhibition at Bloc Projects last year. The structure was created using repurposed and found broken mirrors, wool I already had, and old used 8ft x 4ft exhibition boards gifted to me by the technicians at Sheffield Hallam University. From these materials, I created an intimate booth in the corner of the gallery providing a space to house my works away from permutations and reflection of other people and works within the gallery as the work asked you to confront yourself. I felt an intimate space would foster better engagement, which it did. The installation also had a hidden message, challenging the viewers to look deeper. Reactions were significant as I witnessed people working together to find the secret message within the work at the launch event.

How do you draw from your daily observations, experience, and deep research to inform your practice? Can you share any particular research that has recently inspired your work?

My daily observations spark curiosity which, in turn, leads to more profound research. It is a collaboration of the two which informs my practice. More recently, I have been inspired by a ted talk on how we can end generational poverty and why we don’t by Teva Sienicki, which is well worth looking up yourselves.

Your work aims to encourage self-questioning in the spectator. Can you share a piece where the objective was successfully achieved, and what was the viewer’s response?

I often use questions on my description tags to evoke self-questioning, as it is through self-realisation that real change can happen. It is hard to gauge response to work on this level when the intention is to evoke a feeling through the realisation that things are rarely as they seem. However, I have received positive feedback verbally, through feedback notes and watching people interact with my ‘Mirror Mirror on the Wall’ and ‘Comes out in the Wash’ installations.

Lastly, how do you envision the future of your practice? What new themes or methods are you interested in exploring?

My practice will continue to be inspired and driven by my everyday observations and experiences. However, I am interested in digging deeper into psychology, behaviour and how our subconscious affects our conscious actions. I aim to bring immersive, interactive, free and open to all exhibitions across cities. To create awareness, ask people to look more closely at what surrounds them daily. To be a platform to help the unseen feel visible, to give voice to the voiceless, foster connection to give power to the powerless, and finally, for people to see their value.

We hope you have enjoyed this insight into Donna’s creative expression - please let us know in the comments what you think?

And do please let us know who you think would be an inspiring character for us to meet and listen to for a while.