Honey Williams came to give an artist talk in February and fortunately I was able to attend in person, which was a really great opportunity to interact with a practicing local artist. Based in Nottingham, Honey is a mixed media artist working with collage and painting to create murals around experience and identity but her practice also extends to include music, singing and poetry.
She began by explaining her personal experiences growing up that shaped what her work is about now. Honey experienced discrimination and rejection on a regular basis because of her race and weight, she also explained how not all of this was hateful and instead came from ignorance. Describing how even well meaning people can participate in discrimination if historic bias and judgements are not challenged.
Honey spoke at length about how these experiences affected her art and how she clashed with lecturers at college and university over her practice, which focused on a lack of representation and issues around hair and skin tone within the black community. Growing up with a well educated father meant Honey was well informed about general history and the unacknowledged roles the black community played in history.
She summarised how these early experiences led her to feel like an outsider and like she did not belong. This was reinforced when she attended her first post-graduate interview for a job in Graphic Design; when stating she was here for an interview the receptionist assumed she was here for the cleaning role, not the graduate role. This was repeated when she arrived at the interview where the person holding interviews asked with surprise ‘Are you in the right place?’.
This experience lead Honey to pursue other avenues after university participating in the Gang of Angels choir and an international poetry collective, this led her to start teaching workshops using art as a way to start a conversation between people around issues of race.
After the murder of George Floyd demand for Honey’s work increased which she described as a horrible and confusing feeling. This did however give her the opportunity to raise the profile of the issues she represents and to push back against the circumstances that lead to tragedies like George Floyd.
She spoke in depth about the residencies and commissions she was offered and how these were all local opportunities that gave her the creative lifestyle she wanted. She ended by describing her approach to making work and how it begins automatically and is refined later. Honey spoke about how music and mood influence the type of work she makes, usually starting with abstract influences and marks that then become something else as they are worked on.
Honey advocated that all of us should carefully consider the emotional impact of being an artist, of having to face and tackle difficult and horrific issues yet still find beauty. She advised us all to think about ourselves after the work as well, since there is no point completing a piece or a project only to need weeks of rest or therapy afterwards.
Though this was not the most technically informative talk it was one of the most personable and relatable talks. It was nice to have a developing artist explain their process and journey in detail and to also see an artist that is more integrated in local communities than in a national or international art world. For my own practice I find this comforting and inspiring and the knowledge that unconventional ways of living off art are possible, but also that art can be a community of your own making, and is not limited to a ‘network’ or ‘artworld’.