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Print (MA)

Neeli Malik

photographic collage of lichen, coral, anenemes

Neeli Malik is a graduate of BFA Fine Art from the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford. She specialises in silkscreen and photo-intaglio printmaking. She received training at London Print Studio and studied MA Print at the Royal College of Art (2021-23). In 2021 she was awarded a Burberry Design Scholarship to sponsor her education at the RCA. 

Neeli’s practise is primarily concerned with vivid colourations, interweaving stories, human and nonhuman connections, and where we place ourselves in the world.

Her work has been exhibited in various galleries internationally, including the Oxford Museum of Natural History, the 6B Arts Centre (Paris) the An Táin Arts Centre (Ireland) and Southwark Park Galleries (London). She recently received funding from London Borough of Waltham Forest to develop her photography project: ‘100 Days of Groceries’, which was also featured in Printmaking Today magazine. She has also collaborated with the Oxford Art, Biodiversity & Climate Network, and was artist-in-residence at Oxford Ecosystems Lab, where she produced a body of work in relation to their research on woodland restoration.

Degree Details

School of Arts & HumanitiesPrint (MA)RCA2023 at Truman Brewery

Truman Brewery, F Block, Ground, first and second floors

Sponsor: Burberry Design Scholarship

long exposure picture of artist wearing pink and green next to a display of artworks on wall

My practise is concerned with the idea that anthropocentric decay is exacerbated by a widespread disconnection between humans and our environments. ‘Human exceptionalism’ or ‘Anthropocentrism’ is a mode of thinking that wrongly categorizes humanity as distinctly separate from nature. I want to propose the term ‘emergency intermergences’ - markers of collusions between humans as well as nonhumans in defiance of said separatism, to consciously or unconsciously un-do the isolation of Anthropocentrism:


•      inter-

  1. between; among.
  2. mutually; reciprocally

•      -merge

  1. ‘to ‘immense oneself’; to ‘combine’.

•      emerge

  1. become known; come to light


‘Emergency’ indicates that time is of the essence, we need to be present and in the now.

‘Intermergences’ acknowledge that kinship is an essential component in rethinking our place in the ecological composition of earth.

Emergency intermergences respond to our times and reflect our need for survival. Emergency intermergences form new and more sustainable collusions within ourselves, with each other, and with everything. Whether through the connections between people going about their daily lives, or through the organic symbiotic relationships that make up the planet and our earthly bodies: lichenous cityscapes, sprawling mycelium webs, squirming gut bacteria, and glowing coral structures. How can exploring these various forms of ‘emergency intermergences’ help us reimagine a world beyond the Anthropocene era we are living in?

To visually explore these concepts, I used both my own photography and found imagery to compose amalgamations to represent symbiotic organisms (using images of lichen, coral, moss, slime moulds, mycelium). The medium of print, traditionally used for the reproduction of images, begins to mirror cellular reproduction, as I trace the evolution of an image from photography, to drawing, to metal plates, to a myriad of vivid printed variations (intaglio, silkscreen, lithography).

My practise also expands to documenting glimpses of human connections and encounters - I have recently undertaken a project funded by London Borough of Waltham Forest to develop my ongoing photo-documentary project, ‘100 Days of Groceries’, which archives the images and stories of grocery stores as a lens through which to view communities both urban and rural. This project showcases glimpses of human encounters through the stories of the shopkeepers, and acts as a love-letter to our local greengrocers, fruit & veg stands, butchers, deli’s, corner shops and bakeries along our high streets.

photographic collage of lichen, coral, sea anemones
On The Surface of the Reef, 2023, 4-colour CMYK photolithograph, 56 x 56, variable editions
photographic collage of lichen, coral, sea anemones. fluorescent under UV blacklight
On The Surface of the Reef, (v/e: fluoro southbank), 2023, 4-colour CMYK photolithograph, edition of 5 (under UV light)
photographic collage of lichen, coral, sea anemones, blue and pink only
On The Surface of the Reef, (v/e: magenta/cyan) 2023, 4-colour CMYK photolithograph, edition of 2
close-up photographic collage of lichen, coral, sea anemones, blue and pink only
On The Surface of the Reef (detail)
detailed embossed photoetch, colourful, abstract organic forms
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef, 2023, embossed copperplate photoetching, 57 x 57cm, edition of 10
detailed embossed photoetch, colourful, abstract organic forms
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef, detail
detailed embossed photoetch, colourful, abstract organic forms
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef, detail
embossed copperplate with detailed engravings of organic forms
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef (Plate)
embossed copperplate with detailed engravings of organic forms
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef (Plate detail)
embossed copperplate with detailed engravings of organic forms
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef (Plate detail)
detailed black and white drawing of organic forms, black screenprint on white paper
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef (variable edition: black), silkscreen print, 2023, , 56 x 56cm, edition of 10
detailed black and white drawing of organic forms, black screenprint on white paper
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef (variable edition: black) (detail)
detailed black and white drawing of organic forms, black screenprint on white paper
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef (variable edition: black) (detail)
detailed hot pink drawing of organic forms, pink screenprint on white paper
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef (variable edition: pink), silkscreen print, 2023, , 56 x 56cm, edition of 10
detailed hot pink drawing of organic forms fluorescing under blacklight
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef (variable edition: pink), silkscreen print, 2023 (under UV blacklight)
detailed fluorescent drawing of organic forms under blacklight
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef (variable edition: fluoro), silkscreen print, 2023 (under UV blacklight)
detailed fluorescent drawing of organic forms
On the Surface of Mountains and the Reef (variable edition: fluoro), silkscreen print, 2023, , 56 x 56cm, edition of 5

Medium:

embossed copperplate photoetching and variable screenprint editions

Size:

57 x 57 cm / 56 x 56 cm
copperplatedrawingetchingfluorescentintagliomultispeciesorganicphotoetchphotoetchingscreenprintingsilkscreensymbiosis
detailed embossed photoetch, colourful, abstract organic forms
engraved copperplate
Sprawling Lichenous Cityscape, 2022, embossed photoetched copperplate (detail)
engraved copperplate
Sprawling Lichenous Cityscape, 2022, embossed photoetched copperplate
engraved copperplate
Sprawling Lichenous Cityscape, 2022, embossed photoetched copperplate
black detailed drawing of abstract organic forms
Sprawling Lichenous Cityscape (variable edition: black), 2023, screenprint, 56 x 56 cm, edition of 10
multicoloured detailed drawing of abstract organic forms
Sprawling Lichenous Cityscape (variable edition: fluoro), 2023, screenprint, 56 x 56 cm, edition of 2
multicoloured detailed drawing of abstract organic forms under UV light
Sprawling Lichenous Cityscape (variable edition: fluoro), 2023, screenprint, 56 x 56 cm, edition of 2 (under UV light)
multicoloured detailed drawing of abstract organic forms
Sprawling Lichenous Cityscape (variable edition: fluoro), 2023, (detail)
pink detailed drawing of abstract organic forms under uv light
Sprawling Lichenous Cityscape (variable edition: pink), 2023, screenprint, 56 x 56 cm, edition of 10 (under UV light)
pink detailed drawing of abstract organic forms
Sprawling Lichenous Cityscape (variable edition: pink), 2023, screenprint, 56 x 56 cm, edition of 10
pink detailed drawing of abstract organic forms
Sprawling Lichenous Cityscape (variable edition: pink), 2023 (detail)

Medium:

embossed copperplate photoetching and variable screenprint editions

Size:

57 x 57 cm / 56 x 56 cm
copperplatedrawingetchingfluorescentintagliomultispeciesorganicphotoetchphotoetchingscreenprintingsymbiosis

100 Days of Groceries Vol 1: Kensal Green & Surrounding Areas

A LOVE-LETTER TO OUR LOCAL GREENGROCERS, FRUIT & VEG STANDS, BUTCHERS, DELIS, CORNER SHOPS AND BAKERIES.

This book & the photographs within it have been produced following interviews with each shopkeeper, all telling a variety of stories. Stories of community strength, of entrepreneurship, of hardships, of anxieties in uncertain times. Stories of where they started, where they’re going, and hopes for the future.


green handbound artist book, red text '100 Days of Groceries'
green handbound artist book, open to page with images of fruit and veg and text
green handbound artist book, open to page with images of fruit and veg and text
green handbound artist book, open to page with images of fruit and veg and text
green handbound artist book, open to page with images of fruit and veg and text
green handbound artist book, open to page with images of fruit and veg and text

Medium:

Hand-stitched hardbound artist book, digital print, risograph, letterpress, receipt paper

Size:

10 x 15 cm
artist-bookbookbindingcommunitydigital-printgroceriesletterpressphotodocumentationphotographypublicationrisographstories

About the project:

100 Days of Groceries is a love-letter to our local greengrocers, fruit & veg stands, butchers, deli’s, corner shops and bakeries along our high streets.

This collection of silkscreen prints showcases the images and stories of market stalls and high street shops across communities: Kensal Green, Chingford Mount, Walthamstow (London), and Dundalk (Ireland). The project was made in conjunction with Waltham Forest Arts & Culture, as well as Creative Spark Print Studio in County Louth, Ireland.

100 Days of Groceries is a project that captures not only the history of where a shop may stand, but the voices and stories of the people running them. It explores the culture of the ‘food shop’ in a given community and repositions the importance of the high street through a collection of colourful photographic silkscreen prints that capture the simple, yet vibrant beauty of the storefronts. These artworks have been produced following conversations and collaborations with the local stores and are exhibited alongside their corresponding transcribed interviews.

It paints a picture of the essence each community through the lens of the food shops that provide for them.

man at a jam stand, giant jam jars floating around him
'Drumnasilla', (or: 'The Jam Man'), 2022, CMYK screenprint, 70 x 50cm (Dundalk) – “My grandmother used to tell fortunes and read palms and do horoscopes. And she was into good eating and balanced diets. When granny came over and looked after us, she’d take us out and go foraging. And then she’d get us all to make jams, and that’s where it all started."
collage of man selling fruit and vegetables at a stand
'Sean Nua Farm', 2022, CMYK screenprint, 70 x 50cm (Dundalk) – "It's really rewarding work; we grow quality vegetables and sell them straight away to customers. Our aim is to give quality food to the people. Really, the idea for is it to be doing everything the opposite way to how a supermarket would, I mean, to be transparent in the way we grow and farm, to raise our animals ethically, and to have nutritious, high-quality produce to nourish the mind and the body."
collage of off license
'EU Food Shop', 2022, CMYK screenprint, 70 x 50cm (Chingford Mount) – “I worry too much because I give seven year from my life, and now…maybe, uh…very quiet. Maybe I lose the business? But I give here lots of money and my life. First when I open, everything is empty…I don’t know what will happen now.”
collage of asian supermarket
'Milagrosa', 2022, CMYK screenprint, 70 x 50cm (Walthamstow) – “There’s the pressure of having to take on the business entirely, on your own back. Even if you have other ambitions, there’s always the sense of inheriting a certain legacy. In a way, there’s a sense of honouring your family, honouring your parent’s sacrifice. Because they’ve come here from the Philippines, a completely foreign country, and they’ve come here and established a life. It would just be a shame to see it go. But I’m my own person, and I have my own ambitions."
shelves with afrocarribean food
Jerk Spice III, 2022, 4-colour silkscreen print on Munken, 35 x 48 cm (Chingford Mount) – “I’m looking to do a new project, that’s coming up now, in which I have a next shop from the council, funnily enough. This one next door, that black one there, that’s gonna become a jerk and grill restaurant, like I wanted to do in the first place!” “So, you’re building your empire now, basically?” I ask him “Yes, I am!” He laughs. “Yeah so, just trust in God, and hard work, and you will get there. "
fruit and veg on display at corner shop
Chingford Mount Local III, 2022, 4-colour silkscreen print on Munken, 35 x 48 cm (Chingford Mount) – “Times, everything. Work hours, innit!” He laughs again. “Off-licenses is too much. They’re open so late. Learning the job has been a big challenge. Just jumping into this, there’s so much you don’t know! But it’s been alright, it’s been alright. It’s a nice area. The people are nice.”

Medium:

4-layer CMYK silkscreen prints, accompanied by transcribed texts
cmykcollagecommunitiesconnectionsfruitgroceriesjournalisticphotographyscreenprintingstoriestextvegetables

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Royal College of Art

Registered Office: Royal College of Art,
Kensington Gore, South Kensington,
London SW7 2EU