Introducing Contemporary Collective x Bankside Hotel's Upcoming Artist Residency ft. Luke M Walker

Artists in Residence: 30th January - 2nd April 2023

Bankside Hotel, Makers Studio, London SE1 9JU

Bankside Hotel x Contemporary Collective are thrilled to welcome back artist Luke M Walker to the Art Yard Studio, for his second residency in the space. Celebrating the four-year anniversary of the hotel’s first ever residency featuring Luke, he will return to the studio from 30th January - 2nd April 2023 to focus on the changing landscape of London and the Thames.

Based on the original 14 foot long panorama of the Thames created in 1843 by engraver Henry Vixetelly, which was made made from looking from the South Bank towards the North stretching from The Palace of Westminster to Wapping, Luke will revisit this concept and create an updated ‘Grand Panorama of the Thames’, covering the landscapes from Milbank to Towerbridge.

Drawing upon his interest in panoramic views of London and his recent series of ‘London Converstions’ on display at Bankside, Luke plans to utlise his recently acquired technique of charcoal on canvas to create this large artwork that will span across 5-6 long landscape canvases. In addition to the large Panorama, Luke will carry iout detailed studies and tests prior to his commencement of the project.

For the duration of his residency, Luke will take over the Contemporary Collective Instagram account to document his experience in the studio space. This takeover will feature process shots and final artworks to provide insight into the artist’s creative process, as well as weekly summaries including video clips of various activities taking place in the residency space and the development of ongoing work. In addition to his final end of residency exhibition, luke will host a charcoal workshop and panoramic walking tour around the Thames.

About Luke's Practice:

Luke M Walker views his practice as an inquiry into memory, time, distance and materiality with each series of works being an opportunity to discover something new, through experimentation, exploration, chance, the collection of data and other records of his personal progress through the environment, whether a city or somewhere further afield. It is an attempt to discover the role of a Landscape Artist today.

He was Contemproary Collective's first Artist in Residence at Bankside Hotel, London from November 2018 - February 2019, where he made a series of walks from the residency space and painted the locality, a site undergoing immense change.

Much of his work derives from exploration, primarily through walking. This can involve collecting specific data on walks; the length, the pace, the altitude or number of steps etc. and translating the data into a painting which become physical representations of the momentary act of walking itself. These ‘potential landscapes’ are also paintings of time and distance and it is these additional spatial and temporal qualities that he is keen to express whether through constructed landscapes or from a direct observation of the environment, they act as a record of both the activity of the artist in the landscape but also in the studio.

What once might have been described as homage to the environment has now become something more adversarial, with each body of work beginning to question the value of human activity; whether this is the construction of our cities, our stewardship of the environment or the role of the artist as a witness and how this can be expressed.

View the full collection of Luke's artworks

Residency events:

16th February, 18:00 - 20:00: Grubby Fingers Charcoal Workshop

25th March, 12:00 - 14:00: Walking the Grand Thames Panorama

30th March, 18:00 - 20:30: End of Residency Drinks & Exhibition

Residency Partners: