Margot Wilson, Interdisciplinary Artist
Margot Wilson is a Scottish born artist working through streaming consciousness and ritual based methodologies, fluxing between abstraction and figuration. Wilson’s interdisciplinary practice is rooted in rhythmic and arrhythmic use of her hands and breath to explore the thresholds of belonging as the stable/unstable in material emergence in movement, sculpture, and text.
A self-taught artist and astrologer for over 35-years Wilson returned to education in her 40s to formally study philosophy, writing and art to bring together her life-long obsession with paradoxical freedom in predictive systems such as astrology, tarot, automatic writing and improvisational art making. The deeper Wilson dug into Western philosophy the greater the tensions she felt in her own life, with one foot in archaic divination and the other in analytical rationalism and technology. Performing and creating with music, Wilson uses Tantric and contemporary sound to drive the engine of her durational performances in modelling, drawing, typing and breath-based sounds. Influenced by Duchamp, Cage, Kerouac and Aft Klimt, she fervently avoids repetition and works subliminally with no aesthetic end vision in mind, often not looking at what she is making. Wilson’s aim is to give agency to the artwork through making rituals that initiate their belonging in the world accepting that the outcomes do not always land. She never destroys any work.
With careers in technology behind her and concerns regarding the meteoric rise of A.I., Wilson is also motivated to situate breath, dreaming, channelling and improvisation as somatic technologies on an equal if not greater footing than any artificial intelligence. This journey involves a diverse range of themes including Palaeolithic Venus, quantum emergence physics, space colonisation and the exhilarating view of the cosmos and consciousness as an orchestral phenomena. Wilson’s turns to ancient non-binary pre-patriarchal and futurist worlds to express these themes.
Wilson’s current portfolio includes the clay modelling of over 2,000 Venus maquettes to research the material’s inherent anthropomorphicity, continuous typing and engraving projects as fluid acts of analytical streaming consciousness, sculpture making as volumes of breath, and sound and movement collaboration with Patrick Ziza, Marcus Herne, and James Merrell as Breath Quartet. These making projects are moving navigations of the stable/unstable forces of being human and the cosmos.
Her studio is at ACME Artist Studios, Glassyard Building, Stockwell, London.
A self-taught artist and astrologer for over 35-years Wilson returned to education in her 40s to formally study philosophy, writing and art to bring together her life-long obsession with paradoxical freedom in predictive systems such as astrology, tarot, automatic writing and improvisational art making. The deeper Wilson dug into Western philosophy the greater the tensions she felt in her own life, with one foot in archaic divination and the other in analytical rationalism and technology. Performing and creating with music, Wilson uses Tantric and contemporary sound to drive the engine of her durational performances in modelling, drawing, typing and breath-based sounds. Influenced by Duchamp, Cage, Kerouac and Aft Klimt, she fervently avoids repetition and works subliminally with no aesthetic end vision in mind, often not looking at what she is making. Wilson’s aim is to give agency to the artwork through making rituals that initiate their belonging in the world accepting that the outcomes do not always land. She never destroys any work.
With careers in technology behind her and concerns regarding the meteoric rise of A.I., Wilson is also motivated to situate breath, dreaming, channelling and improvisation as somatic technologies on an equal if not greater footing than any artificial intelligence. This journey involves a diverse range of themes including Palaeolithic Venus, quantum emergence physics, space colonisation and the exhilarating view of the cosmos and consciousness as an orchestral phenomena. Wilson’s turns to ancient non-binary pre-patriarchal and futurist worlds to express these themes.
Wilson’s current portfolio includes the clay modelling of over 2,000 Venus maquettes to research the material’s inherent anthropomorphicity, continuous typing and engraving projects as fluid acts of analytical streaming consciousness, sculpture making as volumes of breath, and sound and movement collaboration with Patrick Ziza, Marcus Herne, and James Merrell as Breath Quartet. These making projects are moving navigations of the stable/unstable forces of being human and the cosmos.
Her studio is at ACME Artist Studios, Glassyard Building, Stockwell, London.
Academic
MA Contemporary Art Practice Royal College of Art, London (2024)
Graduate Diploma - Fine Art - A* Distinction. Royal College of Art, London (2023)
MA Writing, Royal College of Art, London (2020-2022) (see RCA webpage)
MA Creative Writing (Poetry & Theatre), University of Sheffield (2017)
MPhil Philosophy (Research) University of Glasgow (2016)
BA (Hons) Philosophy, Birkbeck, University of London (2013)
Kundalini Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training (2018)
BHSAI Equestrian Instructor (1980)
Graduate Diploma - Fine Art - A* Distinction. Royal College of Art, London (2023)
MA Writing, Royal College of Art, London (2020-2022) (see RCA webpage)
MA Creative Writing (Poetry & Theatre), University of Sheffield (2017)
MPhil Philosophy (Research) University of Glasgow (2016)
BA (Hons) Philosophy, Birkbeck, University of London (2013)
Kundalini Yoga and Meditation Teacher Training (2018)
BHSAI Equestrian Instructor (1980)
Exhibitions
2024 ONE EXTENDED MEDITATION: THE FURIES COLLECTIVE, Copeland Gallery, London
2024 The Graduate Art Exhibition, Woolff Gallery, London
2024 REVERBERATIONS, All is Joy, Soho, London
2024 INTO THE FLUX, International Body of Art, LEX1, Peckham, London
2024 After Judy, Camper Van Collective, Hyde Park, London
2024 Venus Resurrection (sculpture installation) Then and Now, Visual Arts Scotland, Dalkeith Palace, Edinburgh
2024 Crossing: Death the Horizontal (video installation), Occult: Surge, Shoreditch, London
2024 Infinity of Breath (video), Tate Lates, Tate Modern, London
2024 Unborn Horses (audio), Tate Lates, Tate Modern, London
2024 Venus Resurrection (sculpture installation), Out of Reach: The Enigma of Consciousness, Art in the Docks Gallery, London
2024 Crossing: Death the Horizontal (video), CAP @ Genesis Cinema, Whitechapel, London
2024 Ion Eater Mould Brick (sculpture), Everything Must Go, MAFA RCA/Chelsea, Cookhouse Gallery, Chelsea School of Art
2024 Poetics of Failure (Installation), Prophecies of Extinction, Royal College of Art CAP Gallery, London
2023 Lament for Gaia (video), Over and Under, RCA/HSBC Exhibition, Canary Wharf, London
2023 The Bi-Handed Artist’s Studio (video installation), Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition, Edinburgh
2023 Divining Direction (Sculpture Installation), (RCA/UPRUM Collaboration Highways/Mindways), Czech Centre, London
2023 How Can We Use Bi-Handed Drawing, Breath, and Sound to Investigate Cyclical Spiral Energy? Science of Consciousness, Taormina, Italy
2022 Sculpture (fired clay), (Exhibiting with Tammy Walters), Eden Gallery, Newburgh, England
2022 Ariel I (sculpture-fired clay,) Green and Stone Summer Exhibition, London
2022 Chelsea Art Society, London
2021 Towards Levitation (sculpture-fired clay),Thrown Contemporary Winter Exhibition, Online
2021 Various artworks, RCA Winter Fair, London
2021 Oneiric Horses (sculpture-fired clay), Art & Cavallo, Jury's Special Mention, Verona, Italy
2017 Breath Induced ‘Vivid Dreaming’ (BIVD:) Soma-Neuro-Immersive (SNI) Breath Work for Release of Soma-Neuro Holding Patterns, RCPSYCH Poster Presentation: Royal College of Psychiatry International Congress, Edinburgh
2015 Ignoring and Ignorance: Concepts of Positive and Negative Ignoring in Early Buddhist Teachings and Correlates in Neuroscience, TSC Poster Presentation, Towards a Science of Consciousness, Helsinki
2001 War Horse (sculpture), Equestrian Art Society, Mall Gallery, London
1992 Sunflowers in Arles (oil paintings), Blenheim Gallery, London
2024 The Graduate Art Exhibition, Woolff Gallery, London
2024 REVERBERATIONS, All is Joy, Soho, London
2024 INTO THE FLUX, International Body of Art, LEX1, Peckham, London
2024 After Judy, Camper Van Collective, Hyde Park, London
2024 Venus Resurrection (sculpture installation) Then and Now, Visual Arts Scotland, Dalkeith Palace, Edinburgh
2024 Crossing: Death the Horizontal (video installation), Occult: Surge, Shoreditch, London
2024 Infinity of Breath (video), Tate Lates, Tate Modern, London
2024 Unborn Horses (audio), Tate Lates, Tate Modern, London
2024 Venus Resurrection (sculpture installation), Out of Reach: The Enigma of Consciousness, Art in the Docks Gallery, London
2024 Crossing: Death the Horizontal (video), CAP @ Genesis Cinema, Whitechapel, London
2024 Ion Eater Mould Brick (sculpture), Everything Must Go, MAFA RCA/Chelsea, Cookhouse Gallery, Chelsea School of Art
2024 Poetics of Failure (Installation), Prophecies of Extinction, Royal College of Art CAP Gallery, London
2023 Lament for Gaia (video), Over and Under, RCA/HSBC Exhibition, Canary Wharf, London
2023 The Bi-Handed Artist’s Studio (video installation), Royal Scottish Academy Annual Exhibition, Edinburgh
2023 Divining Direction (Sculpture Installation), (RCA/UPRUM Collaboration Highways/Mindways), Czech Centre, London
2023 How Can We Use Bi-Handed Drawing, Breath, and Sound to Investigate Cyclical Spiral Energy? Science of Consciousness, Taormina, Italy
2022 Sculpture (fired clay), (Exhibiting with Tammy Walters), Eden Gallery, Newburgh, England
2022 Ariel I (sculpture-fired clay,) Green and Stone Summer Exhibition, London
2022 Chelsea Art Society, London
2021 Towards Levitation (sculpture-fired clay),Thrown Contemporary Winter Exhibition, Online
2021 Various artworks, RCA Winter Fair, London
2021 Oneiric Horses (sculpture-fired clay), Art & Cavallo, Jury's Special Mention, Verona, Italy
2017 Breath Induced ‘Vivid Dreaming’ (BIVD:) Soma-Neuro-Immersive (SNI) Breath Work for Release of Soma-Neuro Holding Patterns, RCPSYCH Poster Presentation: Royal College of Psychiatry International Congress, Edinburgh
2015 Ignoring and Ignorance: Concepts of Positive and Negative Ignoring in Early Buddhist Teachings and Correlates in Neuroscience, TSC Poster Presentation, Towards a Science of Consciousness, Helsinki
2001 War Horse (sculpture), Equestrian Art Society, Mall Gallery, London
1992 Sunflowers in Arles (oil paintings), Blenheim Gallery, London
See BREATH QUARTET
Blue Meditation (Experimental Meditation Film), London (2020)
Bowery Poetry Club, New York (2017)
Bi-Handed Art Performance, New York (2009)
Performance Sculpture and Music Improvisation - Lincolnshire (2005)
Live Painting Installation - The Last Supper - Oil on Canvas, Barcelona (2002)
Blue Meditation (Experimental Meditation Film), London (2020)
Bowery Poetry Club, New York (2017)
Bi-Handed Art Performance, New York (2009)
Performance Sculpture and Music Improvisation - Lincolnshire (2005)
Live Painting Installation - The Last Supper - Oil on Canvas, Barcelona (2002)
Research
Experimental Meditation & Dreaming Research
ENTANGLEMENT PhD RESEARCH LAB, Led by Prof. Johnny Golding, Royal College of Art (2020-22, 2023-24)
Shelter: We Have Always Walked...Place, Space, and the Bio-Electric Body (current)
Breath Induced ‘Vivid Dreaming’ (BIVD:) Soma-Neuro-Immersive (SNI) Breath-Work for Release of Soma-Neuro Holding Patterns (SNHP), Royal College of Psychiatry International Congress, Edinburgh (2017)
Meditation and Ignorance: Concepts of Positive and Negative Ignoring, Toward a Science of Consciousness Conference (University of Helsinki), Finland (2015)
Elevation Towards Levitation: Tantric Meditation Practices for Pranic Elevation and Flying (ongoing)
Buddha v Superman: The Tantric 'S' in Superman (ongoing)
The Metaphysics of Astrology: 1980 - present
Prevailing Cosmos: Sleep, Dreaming, Death and Dream Yoga (ongoing)
ENTANGLEMENT PhD RESEARCH LAB, Led by Prof. Johnny Golding, Royal College of Art (2020-22, 2023-24)
Shelter: We Have Always Walked...Place, Space, and the Bio-Electric Body (current)
Breath Induced ‘Vivid Dreaming’ (BIVD:) Soma-Neuro-Immersive (SNI) Breath-Work for Release of Soma-Neuro Holding Patterns (SNHP), Royal College of Psychiatry International Congress, Edinburgh (2017)
Meditation and Ignorance: Concepts of Positive and Negative Ignoring, Toward a Science of Consciousness Conference (University of Helsinki), Finland (2015)
Elevation Towards Levitation: Tantric Meditation Practices for Pranic Elevation and Flying (ongoing)
Buddha v Superman: The Tantric 'S' in Superman (ongoing)
The Metaphysics of Astrology: 1980 - present
Prevailing Cosmos: Sleep, Dreaming, Death and Dream Yoga (ongoing)
Publications
Essays:
Travels with the Anxious Nerve: To a Funeral 45 Years Late (2022) - RCA, MA Writing
Aesthetics of Debate in Voices- To Tell A Story (1983) A dialogue between John Berger, Susan Sontag (2021) - RCA, MA Writing
Bathsheba by Day Galatea by Night (2021) - RCA, MA Writing
Ode to Number 6 (2021) - RCA, MA Writing
YEATS CONSIDERED AS THE ARCHETYPAL FOOL (2018) – MA Creative Writing (Distinction)
Title Page A Study of Ignorance: Suffering and Freedom in Early Buddhist Teachings and Parallels in Modern Neuroscience (2016) – MPhil (R)Philosophy Thesis
Marx and the Epicurean Swerve Marx and the Epicurean Swerve (2013) – BA (Hons) Philosophy Dissertation
The Good Parasite: The Human Condition (2011)
Time or Money, Not Both: A Thought Experiment (2010)
Travels with the Anxious Nerve: To a Funeral 45 Years Late (2022) - RCA, MA Writing
Aesthetics of Debate in Voices- To Tell A Story (1983) A dialogue between John Berger, Susan Sontag (2021) - RCA, MA Writing
Bathsheba by Day Galatea by Night (2021) - RCA, MA Writing
Ode to Number 6 (2021) - RCA, MA Writing
YEATS CONSIDERED AS THE ARCHETYPAL FOOL (2018) – MA Creative Writing (Distinction)
Title Page A Study of Ignorance: Suffering and Freedom in Early Buddhist Teachings and Parallels in Modern Neuroscience (2016) – MPhil (R)Philosophy Thesis
Marx and the Epicurean Swerve Marx and the Epicurean Swerve (2013) – BA (Hons) Philosophy Dissertation
The Good Parasite: The Human Condition (2011)
Time or Money, Not Both: A Thought Experiment (2010)