CuratorSpace Artist Bursary #22: Sam Metz

Sam Metz is an artist based in Hull who creates work that engages with the concept of ‘neuroqueering’. They create sculptural installations that incorporate both film and animation while exploring body-based responses to ecology. As a neurodivergent artist and curator with sensory processing differences, Sam creates work in non-verbal ways that begin and end in movement and embodied interactions without recourse to traditionally privileged verbal and written forms of communication.

"In my sculptural practice, I am shifting from larger scale fabrication to more accessible techniques tailored for a disabled body. This transition leads me to explore hand-making methods, particularly focusing on wood carving and materials directly tied to the sites I engage with. I want to connect more intimately with my materials by developing my skills in wood carving and materials specifically embedded in these sites.

This approach will enable me to consider the ecology of my practice, including an awareness of where materials come from and reducing my carbon footprint. My aim is to create a body of work for future exhibitions which explore environmental themes. The ability to craft smaller, hand-made, and carved works, represents a significant shift in diversifying my artistic materials and approaches and will enable my practice to become more sustainable and resilient.

This project builds on my recent inclusion in the "Found Cities: Lost Cities" exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery, which opened on 26th January 2024. The exhibition, curated by Lubaina Himid CBE, showcases my carved work, 'Scopic Insufficiency'. I have had solo exhibitons at 87 Gallery (2023), The Art House Wakefield (2022), and Attenborough Arts Centre (2021), and my work was also recently acquired by York Art Gallery after receiving an Unlimited emerging artist award in 2021."

You can see more of Sam's work here: https://www.curatorspace.com/artists/sammetz
 

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