Jolene Liam's artistic practice is a fascinating exploration of space, control, and transformation, deeply rooted in her unique background. Originally trained in architecture, Jolene brings a distinct perspective to her paintings and drawings, often treating the canvas as a 'site' for intervention. Her work plays with architectural drawing conventions, materiality, and the tension between meticulous planning and spontaneous creation. From map drawings that trace journeys through physical spaces to abstract paintings incorporating unconventional materials like upholstery fabric, Jolene's art invites viewers to reconsider objects, environments, and the very process of making.

The Spark: An Architectural Detour

Gallerfy: Your journey to becoming a full-time artist wasn’t exactly straightforward. Can you tell us where it began?

Jolene: "Like many artists, my parents like to tell me I was always drawing as a small child, and I did art all the way through school. When I finished my A-levels, I considered art school, but got into an architecture course instead and loved it. So that's what I did for the next fifteen years. Architecture takes up a lot of head space, so I wasn't really making any art while I was doing that."

Gallerfy: What prompted you to return to art?

Jolene: "A few years before lockdown, I wanted to enter a drawing competition and needed to make new work for it. I had this idea for two drawings called 'My Flat, As Lived' and ‘My Flat, As Rearranged’. The concept was to take an architectural floor plan but remove all the architecture and only show the objects. That sparked more ideas, and it grew from there. Eventually, I quit my full-time job and started doing art courses to really focus on this – I started with a sculpture course and for the last two years I’ve been on a painting mentorship programme."

The Philosophy: From Blueprints to Brushstrokes

Gallerfy: How does your architectural background influence your art now?

Jolene: "I think the earlier drawings had very direct references, riffing on architectural drawing types like floor plans. Now, the link might be less theoretical, but the work is still spatial. I sometimes think of paintings as 'sites' where you're making an intervention – instead of drawing a space, you're making a space. The desire to play with different materials definitely comes from architecture too. While some pieces, like the map drawings, are still directly linked, maybe there's also a subconscious connection that will always be there."

Gallerfy: You mentioned a shift away from the rigid rules of architectural drawing.

Jolene: "Yes, in architecture, drawings follow fixed rules because people have to build from them. I always joke that the big shift was realising no one needs to build from my art anymore! So things can start to overlap or become super distorted. That was a big mindset shift – moving from very detailed work to looser, more abstract forms. I had to break through the idea that if people can't recognise the object, they won't 'get it'. But what does 'getting it' even mean with art? It doesn't matter if no one sees the original object after the painting is out there; that's okay."

The Craft: Embracing Chaos and Control

Gallerfy: Your process seems to swing between meticulous planning and complete spontaneity.

Jolene: "It's true! I used to plan pieces quite meticulously, sometimes using an underlying grid. But recently, I haven't been planning how the work will turn out as much. For example, with the walking maps, the place dictates the form of the loop made by the drawing. Studio work ranges from very thought-out pieces to working intuitively with whatever materials I have available. With the planned pieces, I like knowing how they'll look, but then I have to execute them to get to that point. The less planned ones are more fun to make, even though I have no idea how they'll turn out – some I don't like at all!"

Gallerfy: You use some interesting tools and materials, like a very long paint stick and upholstery fabric.

Jolene: "Yes! The paintbrush on a stick lets me paint with my whole body and embrace a lack of control, which is good for me as I am learning to appreciate happy accidents and awkwardness in my work. I like using unconventional materials like sofa fabric or bedsheets, taking things from domestic or construction settings, bringing them into an art context and playing with them to see what happens."

Gallerfy: You also mentioned 'paint skins' and indirect painting?

Jolene: "These are newer techniques I'm exploring. You apply paint to something else first, then transfer it onto the final surface, similar to making a monotype in printmaking. Or dried paint skins are peeled off and added to another work, like a collage. It’s another way of letting go of control because you don't know exactly how it will turn out. Sometimes the palette or the test surface ends up looking more interesting than the intended piece because you're less conscious of making it. So cutting those bits out and adding them feels like an equally valid part of the process."

The Journey: Admin Skills and Artistic Freedom

Gallerfy: Has anything from your architecture career proven unexpectedly useful as an artist?

Jolene: "Definitely the admin skills! Being able to manage spreadsheets and plan things out is invaluable. Also, the architectural approach of testing ideas, iterating, and experimenting probably comes from there."

Gallerfy: What are the biggest challenges you face now?

Jolene: "Juggling the freelance jobs needed to support the art financially with actual studio time is a big one. And just the sheer number of decisions you have to make when you're directing your own creative path – from the art itself to the admin side. You have to be careful with your resources and decide where to put your energy."

Gallerfy: You exhibit in both traditional galleries and less conventional spaces. How does that differ?

Jolene: "With larger institutions, often for open calls, they usually have strict parameters – they pick the work, specify how it should be framed and fixed. There isn't much negotiation. Smaller shows, often organised with friends, are a chance to show a group of newer works, maybe pieces in strange formats that wouldn't fit the traditional gallery requirements. It allows for more experimentation in the display itself."