Salon 004
!st April 2025
The fourth Salon of Doubt will start at 18:00 pm
Address: The Art Workers’ Guild, 6 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AT
Further details of this event will be available shortly.
To reserve Tickets please click HERE
Speakers:
Click on name or portrait for more info.Rob Lowe aka Supermundane
Rob was scheduled to speak at The Salon of Doubt 003 but due to Covid was forced to withdraw.
Rob Lowe aka ‘Supermundane’ is an Artist, illustrator and writer. He is not a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild.
“The Benefit of the Doubt - I naturally like to use positivity (and, sometimes, relatable melancholy) in my work. Doubt is a tricky thing to talk about positively. To do so, you usually have to talk about a lack of it: no doubt, without doubt, doubtless... I have lived a life of self-doubt, which I have slowly learnt to use positively to guide my work. I’ll be talking about using doubt as a lens to view the world, and no doubt will contradict myself in the process.”
“The Benefit of the Doubt - I naturally like to use positivity (and, sometimes, relatable melancholy) in my work. Doubt is a tricky thing to talk about positively. To do so, you usually have to talk about a lack of it: no doubt, without doubt, doubtless... I have lived a life of self-doubt, which I have slowly learnt to use positively to guide my work. I’ll be talking about using doubt as a lens to view the world, and no doubt will contradict myself in the process.”
Will Houstoun
Will was scheduled to speak at The Salon of Doubt 003 but due to a bout of flu was forced to withdraw.
Will Houstoun is an ‘Illusion Designer and Director’ aka as ‘A Magician’. He is also a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild.
Every magic trick is, without wishing to make too fine a point of it, a dense web of lies…. Yet the most interesting magic performances often use those lies to try and put something truthful into the world. When you spend your time lying to an audience, however, and you know that they know you are lying, there is plenty of room for doubt to creep in.
Monica Dolan
Monica Dolan is an english actor working in theatre, TV and film. She is not a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild.
In 2022 she played the part of Sister Aloysius in John Patrick Shanley’s play ‘Doubt : A Parable’ at the Chichester Festival theatre.
She will talk about how her role in the play, and how the play and the powerful existential crisis it portrays brought about changes for her in the portrayal of her part.
Jade Chanel P
Jade Chanel P is a tattoo artist living and working in London. She is not a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild.
In her own words.
Hi! I’m Jade, a tattoo artist based in East London, celebrated for my intricate fine-line black and grey designs that exude precision and a delicate, feminine aesthetic. My artistic journey began in 2015 with an apprenticeship at Lowrider Tattoo in Bethnal Green. I am the founder of Vaporwave Tattoo est 2018, a vibrant and inclusive studio, which I recently closed. The studio reflected my personal style, drawing inspiration from my 90s upbringing, and served as a creative hub for essentially for women to flourish. My commitment to fostering a supportive space underscores my dedication to both my craft and the tattoo community.
I will be speaking about ‘Breaking the Ink Ceiling: Misogyny in the Male-Dominated Tattoo Industry’
Kay Gasei
Kay Gasei is a Zambian-British, London raised artist whose artistic journey has been one of transitions from illustration, fashion and through to the quote unquote fine arts most recently. His works focus on a range of topics with a style that tends to elude to rather than overtly elucidate, working with multi and overlapping narratives. A dynamic visual style whose work explores the intersection of symbolism, abstraction, and surrealism. Drawing inspiration from mythology, dreams, and the human experience, Kay creates thought-provoking pieces that try at challenging perception and invite a twinkle of introspection. He is a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild.
My doubts? I don’t even really know what my doubt are. I understand doubts to be those things that keep you up at night and may cause paralysis. I don’t have those, I have nudges of worry, “ah is this good enough?”, “should this have a deeper meaning?”, “should I only stick to one thing at a time?” But lately veering into the artworld I have worried about if I liked the idea of my works being only in living rooms, hallways and probably bathrooms of people who have a few spare shekels for paintings. Then I think, this is self indulgent thought, get back to painting the secrets of the universe..
Rachael
Matthews
Rachael Matthews is a textiles artist and writer. She has published three books about knitting and crochet. Her latest, The Mindfulness in Knitting, explores the links between craft and calm. Rachael’s art often takes the form of knitted objects, through which she aims to shift people’s perceptions of textiles. Until 2016 she co-ran the knitting shop/art space Prick Your Finger.
Rachael teaches at Central St. Martins. She is from the Lake District and maintains close links with the region. She currently lives and works in London. She is a Brother of the Art Workers’ Guild
About twenty years ago, Rachael Matthews was interviewed in 'A Day in the Life' in the Sunday Times about her knitting practice. She is quoted as saying 'I hope one of my knitted leeks stays around when I'm gone.'
About a week after the article came out, the founder of the 'Salon of Doubt' Rob Ryan, who she didn't know very well at that point, pulled up on his bike next to her at the traffic lights at Old Street roundabout and said something like ' Hi Rachael, I Liked what you said about your knitted leek, I'd never thought of my work like that before.'
Two decades later, Rachael doubts her ability to account for those times. The leek has gone. She now understands her work as a practice of New Materialsim, but worries that the naive ideas raised in that article, can't actually be realised within her lifetime.
Simon Hurst
Simon Hurst was a registered architect from 2002 to 2023. He spoke at the he is a Brother at the Art Workers’ Guild.
Simon spoke at the first Salon if Doubt on October 23rd 2023 when he announced his retirement from architecture and his future transition into being an artist and the doubts that he held about this.
We welcome his return to update us his journey eighteen months later.
“I've successfully quit being an official architect, taken part in my local open studio event last summer, had a one week joint exhibition with 3 artist friends last autumn and am designing products for the Royal Collection shops. I'm still doing courses at the Royal Drawing School, including some sculpture classes. I think I might be happiest sculpting, but I love painting, I am not sure I like drawing, I don't know if or what I have to say as an artist. All I do know is that I don't want to return to my old day job. I'd love some answers on a postcard please,”
Doug Patterson
Doug Patterson has his own architectural design practice, specialising in marine and architectural design. The projects involve research, design and complicated logistics and the locations of the projects are worldwide. He travels widely to source artisans, craftsmen and appropriate manufacturing providers with whom he regularly collaborates.
He has also travelled extensively in the tradition of a travelling artist, believing that the process of painting and drawing gives one an intimate insight into places and a unique access to people. He is a Brother at the Art Workers’ Guild
“I would like to talk about my current art project which is at the research and development stage and will eventually form aseries of journeys to illustrate in watercolours and etchings 10 examples of the work of Mimar Sinan - the most prominent architect of the Ottoman empire. He designed and built over 90 mosque masterpieces. This project is the culmination of retracing three 18th and 19th century travelling artists who illustrated the architecture of the three great world faiths, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Orthodox Christianity, this involved me travelling to Bhutanthe monastic peninsular of Mount Athos in Greece and the Islamic sites in across North Africa.
