Artist 
Lilly Skipper 

www.instagram.com/sumwhereonlyweno

Series, ‘in a worst case scenario’ depicts printed replicas of some of my old sketches made during my transition to an independent, city lifestyle and during the beginnings of isolation. The reoccurring fish is a symbol of permanence, calm, and settlement, reflective of my returning home due to COVID and the feeling of disruption returning to a place that had adjusted to my absence. To eat the fish ‘in a worst case scenario’ would be disrupting their environment, similar to COVID’s disrupting my independence. The box imagery further signify this environmental change, embodying juxtapositions of ‘belongings’ versus ‘belonging’ and temporality versus permanency. ‘Time’ remains a critical element in each print. Gold-fish don’t normally have a long lifespan, however our current fish have survived since my leaving and returning home in correspondence with my short lived independence. Haveitoldyou depiction of 9/11 represents a resonating ‘catastrophe timeline’ in regard to my lifetime from 2001 to 2020’s Corona virus, contrasted against a drawing I made of Melbourne city scape. The personal series convey mundane objects representative of the people around me and my short experiences of pure happiness during my short time in the city.

Interview between editor Jessie Cunningham-Reid & Lilly Skipper

I am interested in "plath"- is this something you're reading, and if so what sort of influence does her writing have on your work?

COVID’s given me much more free time to read, and as result I kind of re-discovered Sylvia Plath. The confessional aspect and arguable instability and vulnerability to Plath’s poems is definitely a prolific influence in relation to the intimate subject matter and emotional exposure in this series. My past works have been moreover unprompted and comprise of really gestural mark makings, so to depict emotional or personal subjects in my practice feels pretty new. Plath also wrote extensively about her own experiences, which this series corresponds with in a visual and personal context and from a similar exploration and extension of ‘self’.

What do you think the difference is between making a series of works compared to individual stand alone images , and do you think this series is complete?

Majority of my past works stand alone, so the outcome of a cohesive series was super unexpected, and creational process of this series was very spontaneous. I can really appreciate the consistent narrative a series of images creates and it’s ability to tell a chronological story, however a ‘standalone’ work can definitely be equally confronting. However, if I were to present one of these images alone, it’d present limitations, thus series has to be viewed as a body of works. I think scale is also a critical element of comparison, and these monos are deliberately small in replication of my original journal drawings. I initially had no intention in creating a series, however realised the reoccurring images when presented together formed a stronger and more cohesive, wholistic outcome with the ability to express a more emotive, symbolic presentation of my coming to terms with my changing environment.

[Hmm] I wonder if any piece of artwork is ever really complete or can be over-done. Knowing when to stop is difficult, however this series is complete, yes…enough to convey my intent. To some, maybe aesthetically of the simpler marks, such as in refined, could suggest otherwise, but I like the ability to evoke a response using minimalist mark makings.  

What do you like about printmaking?

Printmaking is what I am currently specialising in as part of my Fine Arts University degree, but I think the monoprinting technique in particularly is super convenient right now given the inability to print on campus using traditional tools because of COVID. Moreover, I like the indirect approach to mark making printing processes provide and the broad amount of reductive and additive techniques. Exploration feels infinite.

You mentioned the fish being a reliable symbol of which you can come back to, and as I interpreted it, helps you to stay grounded in this strange time.  I am wondering if your art making practice provides this same sense of stability?

Haha, I think this body of work conveys anything but [stability]. I mean, on a personal level, this series represents instability in regard to these hectic times, but moreso the frustration behind the independent lifestyle I was expecting this year that’s been put on hold. I’m sure there’s plenty of young adults who are in the same position. Having a pet – be that a fish or dog - I think makes anyone and everyone feel grounded and home, which has definitely kept me mentally and physically stable and sane.

I found it interesting that you made reference to a ‘catastrophe timeline’. I too have been reflecting on the impact of 9/11 on our generation as the anniversary approaches and how what we are experiencing now with COVID is going to impact our future, especially the longer it goes on, and like how you acknowledge the direct impact of the world around you on your work yet your works are, like you stated, mundane objects. I wonder if you could expand on this (your choice of subjects?)

Yeah that’s crazy. It was honestly the coming to terms with the comparison of ‘then to now’ and its correspondence with my being and sad reality surrounding the frequency of these events today, although, the consequences and severity when comparing both these disasters do differ. It was actually a real kick to the chest when I looked at my individual mono 9/11 and really thought about it. Never before have I made a series so personal, so to reflect on two devastations and draw that timely connection wasn’t a kind awakening.

In regard to the mundane symbols, it’s also no coincidence that Plath used everyday objects in her poems as really emotive metaphors to represent and/or objectify her children, husband or her opposition toward society. Maybe viewers familiar with Plath’s writing can further identify these unconsciously made parallels. My personal notions surrounding Western society’s consumerist obsession with ownership and relationship to the mundane support my use of mundane symbols. Today’s materialistic driven society seek proprietorship in attempt to validate our worth to the point we are defined by our belongings, and our possessions possess us. Ultimately, I consider the mundane objects throughout the series representations of places and periodic happy moments or experiences in time, as opposed to my personality or generalisation of societal consumerism. I would often, like, sit at a coffee shop and do a small 20 second sketch of a cup or something, thus interpret a moment or feeling in time. I really want to materialistically ‘downgrade’ to a minimalist lifestyle, or ‘advance’ if it means I appreciate my surroundings more.