Small in name only
By Jessica Braithwaite
Samantha Small by no means lives up to her name. She leads a big
life, with big ideas, and for the past year has been living in a very
big city.
Leaving home is nothing new for the UniSA Visual Arts graduate; Small has travelled the world and lived everywhere from Holland to Perth. Despite this, her latest adventure to London has been nothing short of extraordinary.
After winning the 2003 Anne and Gordon Samstag International Visual Arts Scholarship, Samantha packed her bags and headed for the United Kingdom. Here, she completed a master’s degree in fine art at the prestigious Goldsmiths College (University of London).
Over the past year, Small has produced work exploring relationships in regards to her own position as an ‘outsider’ in London. Various tactics were used to help her do this, such as the public placement of memorials, posters, and anonymous letters. These were, she says, “a means of intervening with my new environment.”
“I have had a great time in London”, says Small, after acknowledging openly that “pace is what London is all about… you either go with it, or you drown.”
Despite this, she says London felt very much like home.
“To be home is to be yourself, or around those you feel most comfortable
with, and that can be anywhere.”
Small is, however, looking forward to returning to Australia “to the people
who I have missed very much while I have been away, and to fresh air, which
I never appreciate enough!”
In relation to her long-term future, she remains undecided. “I prefer to plan for the short term and let the long term follow. This means I work towards doing those things I want to do now, rather than compromising the present for an imagined future.”
So while a 10 year forecast is out of the question, Small has big plans for her short term future. She is looking into artist residencies in Ireland and Germany for 2005, and hopes to organise a solo exhibition with a gallery in London.
There are also prospects for a show of new work in Australia, so keep an ear out for the chance to see for yourself the latest of Small’s artwork.