As we wait to pop our first few Push Me for 90 second films into The Space, we’ve been catching up with some of our artists like Rachel Gadsden from our earlier film shoots as they work to their timetable of summer events leading up to the Southbank showcase in early September.

When we first met Rachel in her studio in Raynes Park in April and filmed her painting on top of Firle Beacon, we started to get under the skin of Unlimited Global Alchemy, her commission for Unlimited.

Skin has a particular resonance for Rachel. When asked her about her work on velvet she told us, ‘Velvet feels like skin to me and the stitching across the work is like the puncture of my syringe driver.’

Being kept alive through medication is something she shares with her artist collaborators from the Bambanani Group in South Africa. Bambanani is a Xhosa word meaning stand together and unite.   It’s a compelling connection.

Rachel has been pushing herself to complete UGA’s exhibitions, performances, films and a catalogue ready for the  launch on the 22nd June at the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge.  We’ll be joining her there and meeting  two artists from the Bambanani Group in person.

In the meantime Rachel’s first film will be in The Space soon. We can’t wait.