ONCA is delighted to announce the three selected artists for our Lost Species Day Residency: Laurèl Hadleigh, Matice Moore, and Tsai Tung Li.

About the residency

During the residency, the selected artists will create new works responding to the theme of biodiversity, racial justice, and environmental justice, to be exhibited at ONCA Gallery in central Brighton November 28 – December 16. The exhibition will be curated by Imani Robinson, artist and member of SYFU (sorryyoufeeluncomfortable) Collective.

About the Artists

Laurèl Hadleigh is a London, UK born, woman of colour artist experimenting primarily with documentary based film and organic materials, interested in what lies between journalist and storyteller, her work questions socio-political issues. Through her practice she investigates the warped layers of truth within the socio-political climate, exploring systems and languages that centre dynamic interconnection. Laurèl is also particularly interested in forms of adaption due to loss of biodiversity and ways people are trying to reintroduce biodiversity within their communities and secure its future.

Matice Moore is a black, queer, U.S. born painter and printmaker from Arizona, who currently resides in Flintstone, Maryland. Using linoleum and acrylic, Matice employs abstract methods to explore themes of Blackness, grief, spirituality, and social change. While Matice studied figure drawing in 2002 as a minor during their undergraduate degree program, they did not self-identify as an “artist” until 2014 when they discovered that printmaking was a reliable way to fundraise for and otherwise connect with the Black Lives Matter movement. Since then, they have worked on a number of social campaigns, including the Trans Life and Liberation project, Trans Day of Resilience, and CulturStrike’s Visions from the Inside project. 

Tsai Tung Li is a Taiwanese illustrator and designer currently living in Brighton. She recently finished her MA in Sequential Design/Illustration at the University of Brighton and exhibited her recent picture book- Wings of My Own at the university. As well as children’s illustrations Tsai likes to create hand-drawn maps and personal projects inspired by her experiences in different cultures using mixed media, and collage and experimenting with different colours and textures. Her work contains many depictions of buildings and urban spaces and explores how these structures affect people and stories.

This project is supported by funding from Arts Council England, and is part of the nationwide Season for Change – ‘celebrating the environment through culture and inspiring urgent action on climate change‘.