Bridge Phillips on dremeling, residencies and her favourite projects at AUB

I’ve always been deeply attracted to the arts. I got through my first school interview with the charge of my creativity. I remember them asking, “What’s most important to you?” My mother had heard through the grapevine that they’d ask this question, expecting children to draw their families... I drew a smiling zebra. Since then, every time a parent asked me of my favourite subject, I said art, and when it came to choosing what to study, I couldn’t ignore the calling. Fine Art has been a language I’ve always been fluent in yet forever learning, I could never give it up.

My favourite inspiration and process have been behind EVANESCENCE, partly because it was the first time I picked up a Dremel and now I can’t imagine my practice without it.

My process started with my imagination and an oyster shell. I was promenading Bournemouth Beach during second year when I came across a peculiar shell within which I saw a visage, which then inspired a character in a moment, in a painting. So, my first collection, EVANESCENCE, was born. I developed my character with sketches and a small fragile clay sculpture you could coddle and keep safe in your hands. I imagined her to be the last of her kind, evolved but alone, with the company of bioluminescent sea creatures forever crawling the deep seafloor. Naturally, this included research into deep sea life.

Following the smooth and shallow relief of the face in the shell with a Dremel, I carved the same into a spruce plywood board, whilst still trying to preserve the rougher impression of oyster shell. I then respected the natural grain of the plywood by applying darker blue paint along the grain. It created depth, which to my surprise, naturally produced the scene of a chasm!

During the VVV Residency, I found inspiration in the Sylvia Plath poem Pursuit (1956). The poem describes a first-person account of prey running from a panther. It greatly resonated with me and my experience as a woman in a patriarchal landscape. With the use of video editing, I tried to depict how my life so far felt on moving image. I took clips from Metropolis (1927) mixed with 1930s archival clips of Hong Kong, where I grew up, and found footage of old computers.

My video, Vantage, reflects my personal experience of womanhood as something simulated. It explores what it means to exist within systems that neither recognise nor sustain you – to be pursued, monitored and forced to run from truths that feel unbearable. Yet through confrontation and acceptance, vulnerability shifts into strength. In Vantage, survival is an act of reclamation, where lived experience becomes power and perspective becomes advantage.

I’d say video editing and my use of Dremel have been the most unique and valuable skills I’ve learnt from BA (Hons) Fine Art. The “map” specialism had some great workshops earlier on where I picked up on recording sounds, learning how to edit and layer audio as well as video, which have all been incredibly valuable. I gained access to high-quality editing tools which I would’ve never had the pleasure of playing around with otherwise. With a bit of practice, it’s a new and exciting creative outlet.

I was incredibly grateful to be chosen for the VVV Residency. I didn’t have much confidence in my skills in terms of moving image, but having the free opportunity to go to Naples, Italy gave me an incredible push and motivation to express myself in this new format.

With the Dremel, I found with the guidance of technicians, again, a tool I’d never had looked twice at before, but it's something that I’ve since learnt how to use almost entirely intuitively. That, alongside with the access to free wood and materials, has been a godsend. I’ve had an incredibly exciting university career, and I’ve learnt so much about myself and my practice. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

I applied to AUB because I wanted to be by the coast. I’ve always felt drawn to the ocean; it is such a vast and limitless source of inspiration. I spent a lot of my Foundation year with my friends on the beach, whatever chance we got.

My favourite part about AUB is the fact that we’re a specialist arts university, which means everyone you interact with is a creative. It makes it so much easier to find common ground with new people, make conversation and become friends – that goes for students, technicians and lecturers. There’s such a collaborative spirit on campus where everyone embraces each other to express themselves to their fullest potential. It’s been such an incredible and beautiful bubble of fashion and art, and I’d say everyone inspires each other daily.

Never be afraid to compliment someone on their work. The more people you meet at university and the more you branch out and learn about yourself, the better – your fellow creatives are such a valuable resource, and you never know how they may affect your practice.

Don't reject criticism. Welcome feedback with open arms; everyone around you wants to see you at your best. The most important thing I’ve learnt at university, in terms of my creative journey, is to drop all ego. What you’re creating has a life of its own. Remove your ego from the equation to truly connect your heart to your creation.

Want to see more of Bridge’s work?

Check out her Instagram or get in touch via email.