Nurturing Fertile Ground
In Conversation with Evan Purdy & Molly Maltman
April 15th, 2024
By Briá Purdy @briapurdyox
It was over New Years when I first met Evan Purdy and Molly Maltman. Enthusiastically they described to me their vision of a collective future: artists, living and working together, creating a space in which they can display their work without having to compromise for commercial gain. It felt like a utopian aspiration, though not a completely implausible proposition. Now, in the Parisian gloom of an April washout, I talk to them again through the miracle of technology, all about how to curate a more cooperative future for young artists.
Briá Purdy: First up, could you describe your artistic practice for the readers?
Molly Maltman: I’m a multidisciplinary artist working between image-making, writing, and directing.
Evan Purdy: I’m a photographer. My work explores the experience of being young during late-stage capitalism.
Evan Purdy, I AM FIRSTLY, NOTHING, Print Number: #002, London, 2024
BP: In your most recent group exhibition, Madly awake am I at my small window, you transposed London-based artists to display them in a gallery in Berlin. As curators, what role do you play in shaping the public perception of an artist's work?
EP: Very little, I hope! For me, photography is a message to other people using your perspective. The curator can never shape the public perception. They can only hope to create an environment that allows the work to exist authentically. Sounds strange to say but I hope no one was thinking about the curation during the show in Berlin.
We’re all there to experience the images and to think, “Why would someone take such a picture at that moment, and choose to show it to me now?”
MM: I totally agree, I don’t think a curator should ever try to carve out a perception of an artist's work. To do so would be to not only remove the artists from the work itself but also remove any autonomy from an audience. As artists, but firstly human beings, we are always changing – and with that, our understanding of things too. The curator should be a facilitator, and nurturer of fertile ground, where these many understandings and perceptions can grow and change, where audiences can question themselves and their own understandings.
“Why would someone take such a picture at that moment, and choose to show it to me now?”
Molly Maltman, Charlotte, London, 2022
Evan Purdy, I AM FIRSTLY, NOTHING, Print Number: #003, London, 2024
BP: How did you navigate the collaborative process of curating that exhibition?
EP: We share such similar tastes, especially in photography. We were able to show contemporary photographers whom we really admire. Then, when it came to installing we wanted the space to inform our decisions so we made a decision not to plan the curation of the space.
MM: It was the easiest collaboration and such an exciting one too. We share so many similar thoughts about photography and what it means in the contemporary landscape. Having those conversations feeding into each step of the process, from selecting artists to actually installing it physically onto the walls, meant that we were constantly working with intent. We worked very intuitively, I think that’s something so important to do as any kind of creative. Overplanning things can kill it sometimes.
“I really believe that a strong image, when experienced in the real world, can embed itself in your psyche.”
BP: It is interesting that you chose to exhibit work that had not previously been seen or posted on social media: thinking about future events, do you think this is a way to get people more involved in experiencing art physically instead of solely online?
EP: Initially, I think that decision was more of a focus on the artists rather than the audience. We wanted to give photographers an opportunity to say something without having to consider the commercial landscape. But after being in the exhibition I realised how rare it is for people to experience photographs for the first time physically. I really believe that a strong image, when experienced in the real world, can embed itself in your psyche. Allowing the image to become a part of how you’ll go on seeing the world. So close your eyes when you next see an advert!
MM: What Ev said.
Evan Purdy, I AM FIRSTLY, NOTHING, Willow, London 2024
BP: Do you feel that young artists now are changing the way we consume or experience art?
EP: It feels like most young people feel powerless in today's world. I think that creates this idea that you either adopt the status quo or just abandon the pursuit entirely. For young artists, there are increasingly fewer avenues that don’t involve becoming oppressed by capitalism. Profit must always be involved and therefore the art will never come first.
MM: The experience of art is becoming increasingly intangible. Everything is available at the tips of our fingers on a screen, our attention spans are depleting at an incredible rate. Just like living inside a city, the experience of art feels incredibly isolating. It no longer seems to bring people together, provoke genuine conversations, or strike up feelings. As young artists, I think it’s crucial that we remember the importance of physical spaces – it’s here where we can really experience the humanity of art, together.
Molly Maltman, Celeste in Bed, Berlin, 2023
BP: I love that. I totally agree about the importance of collaborative physical spaces. That being so, do you believe that there is still scope for the traditional art establishment and young artists to interact for the benefit of both?
EP: Young artists can definitely still ‘play the game’ and try to come out with their beliefs still intact. But I feel like we need to change the narrative around what we aim for as artists. Too many institutions take young artists and embed the narrative of what they need to do to become successful artists. They create a drive for institutional validation, which then creates competitive environments. All of this means that many people don’t experiment, they don’t create without first guaranteeing a final product. There is not enough focus on using art locally, to impact those you love, those who really know you, and those who have the capacity for empathy.
“What’s the point in looking up vertically to these institutions and establishments, when the way to make change is standing right next to you?”
MM: Exactly, young artists are so focused on the commodification of their work, of “making it” commercially, that they forget how fulfilling it can be to work with the people around you, to make for the people around you. You can definitely play the institution, but you mustn’t let that game affect the things you can do together – against the institution. Togetherness is the ultimate defiance against these established systems that hang above us – and that sentiment extends far beyond the world of art. What’s the point in looking up vertically to these institutions and establishments, when the way to make change is standing right next to you?
Molly Maltman, “I am nothing without my love”, Madly awake am I at my small window, ORi, Berlin, 2024
BP: So, is there a museum or a gallery or even an artistic collective that is inspiring you right now?
MM: An artist collective that comes to mind is Life is Beautiful, and I think they’re a really great example of the power of togetherness, of allowing vulnerabilities to unfold between one another through art. It began as a radio show and has since blossomed into a record label and artists collective that focuses on liberated exploration where limitations don’t exist. It’s like a tribe of sorts, each of its eight members bringing something different to the group.
There’s no hierarchy, it’s just these minds and bodies working in synergy with one another, feeding each other’s creativity. Evan and I saw a performance they did at Ormside Projects a few months ago, it blended experimental music with spoken word, dance, and film. I felt so moved. It really solidified this feeling I have about the power of working with those around you.
BP: I’ll be sure to look out for it! Thank you both for taking the time to talk to me. I’m excited to see what you guys do next.
Banner Credits (left to right):
Evan Purdy, I AM FIRSTLY, NOTHING, Print Number: #004, London, 2024 / Evan Purdy, “Collective Intimacies of Concrete Isolation: Part I”, Madly awake am I at my small window, ORi, Berlin, 2024 / Evan Purdy, I AM FIRSTLY, NOTHING, Willow, London 2024
About Evan Purdy
Evan Purdy is a London-based photographer. His work explores urban youth and counterculture during late-stage capitalism. He is currently studying Fine Art: Photography at Camberwell College of Arts, UAL. He was co-curator of the exhibition, Madly awake am I at my small window, at ORi, Berlin. His photography has been featured in AnOther, Dazed, Altered States, The Face, and SLEEK magazines.
About Molly Maltman
Molly Maltman is a multi-disciplinary artist and writer based in London. Maltman’s work addresses the relationship between the body, environment, and voyeur, manifesting in themes that range from the erosion of time to trance music's potential to connect us with our body's inner 'language'. Co-curator of the exhibition, Madly awake am I at my small window, Maltman is a third-year BA (Hons) Fashion Photography student at London College of Fashion. She is also a Junior Editor at SLEEK Magazine.