Lill Colgan is an artist from Boorloo (Perth, Western Australia) currently settled on Gadigal land (Sydney, Australia). Their practice explores the ways normative social power shapes embodiment and considers how affects might be unpacked through transformative material play. Colgan graduated with a BFA (First Class Honours) from Curtin University (WA) in 2014. Since then, they’ve shown in multiple exhibitions nationally including Hatched: National Graduate Show at PICA; Passing/Parades at SUCCESS ARI; King Single/Expanded Queen at FELTSpace; Of All Others at Firstdraft and The TV Show at Wollongong Art Gallery. Lill has participated in development programs and residencies for Performance Space, Perth Festival, Vitalstatistix, Proximity Festival and Cool Change Contemporary. More recently, Lill has undergone a one-year tenancy at Parramatta Artists Studios.
What does Hatched mean to you?’
I recall going through a flood of new experiences whilst exhibiting in Hatched 2015. It was my first time exhibiting with artists from outside of Perth, the first time showing in an established arts institution, and my first time creating a public programs event. Having recently graduated from university, this felt like a daunting leap into professional practice that I was unprepared for. Running alongside this, however, was a strong sense of invigoration and eagerness to push my boundaries. Perhaps this is one of the significant things that opportunities like Hatched offers – it can give young artists a productive amount of space, support and pressure to help ambitious things arise.
Meeting other artists from around Australia and hearing them talk about their work was another really fulfilling part of my Hatched experience. For me, the conversations generated around art practice can often be more enriching than art itself. Gaining insight into the ways other young people approached social and political issues creatively, how they ask questions and think through making, felt like fuel to me. Having conversations with other Hatched artists helped me interrogate my own creative processes/ways of thinking and pushed me gently towards new modes of working.
