Lucy Davis
Lucy Davis is a visual artist, art writer and founder of The Migrant Ecologies Project. Her transdisciplinary practice encircles plant genetics, tree lore and bird song as well as art/science, naturecultures, memory, materiality, narrative environments, and pyscho-ecologies of resilience. She is currently Professor of Artistic Practices in Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art at Aalto University, Finland where she serves as Deputy Head of the programme.
Lucy was a founding member of the School of Art Design & Media, Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore 2005-2016 where she served for four years as Coordinator of Art History. She was officially promoted to Associate Professor by Nanyang Technological University in 2016.
Lucy’s work has been featured in numerous world festivals, biennales, museums and residency programmes, including: The National Gallery of Singapore (permanent collection exhibition) (2021) Singapore Art Museum site specific commission (2020) Jendela Art Space The Esplanade Theatres on The Bay Singapore (2020); 15 Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival--part of May Adadol Ingawanij’s Animistic Apparatus, (2019); SeedCultures Svalbard 2019; The Taipei Biennale (2018), Rockbund Shanghai/Fondazione Sandretto re Rebaudengo (2018), NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore (2017); Taiwan International Video Art exhibition TIVA 5 (Oct 2016 – Jan 2017); M1 Singapore Fringe (Jan 2016); NUS Museum (June 2014 - Feb 2015); Singapore Art Museum (2014); National Museum of Singapore (2012-14); Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh Art/Science Festival (2013); International Symposium on Electronic Arts ISEA (USA, 2013); The Barbican (UK, 2013) and Prix COAL Awards (Paris, 2011).
Lucy’s 2021 film Like Shadows Through Leaves commissioned by the Singapore Art Museum and part of the juried, International Competition at the top tier Oberhausen International Short Film Festival (May 2021) where it was awarded the FIPRESCI International Federation of Film Critics Award for the festival. The film is in competition at Reykjavik International Film Festival (October 2021) and the Singapore International Film Festival (December 2021). Her animated short Jalan Jati (Teak Road) screened in over 60 international venues including Rotterdam IFF (2013) And Yamagata IDFF (2103). Awards include the Promotion Award at Oberhausen ISFF (2012), two Singapore Short Film Awards for sound and animation (2013), and Jury Mention for Technical Achievement, ISFF, Ahvaz, Iran (2015). Migrant Ecologies’ research was a finalist for the French Prix COAL Art & Ecology awards (2011) and nominated for the APBF Signature Asia Pacific Art Prize, Singapore Art Museum (2011).
Lucy’s twelve-year research exploration of Stories of Wood and Plant Genetics in Southeast Asia produced four major exhibitions six original bodies of work. It is featured in a permanent exhibit on trees and DNA in the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, Singapore (2015). Separate incarnations have been acquired by: Nanyang Technological University Museum (2016), NUS Museum (2016) the National Gallery of Singapore (2017).
Lucy contributes to series of international publications and has produced 4 artist’s books. She is SE Asian advisor for the peer-reviewed ANTENNAE, The Journal of Nature in Visual Culture (UK) A two volume edition of ANTENNAE, Uncontainable Natures, Southeast Asian Ecologies and Visual Cultures was published in Aug-Sept2021. Publications include: Why Look at Plants? (Brill 2018), CLIMATESPerformance Research (Routledge 2018); Mountains and Rivers (without) End: An Anthology of Eco–Art History in Asia (Cambridge Scholars 2019), Intercalations 3 Reverse Hallucinations in the Archipelago (K-Verlag 2018), Considering Animals (Routledge 2013), The DOCUMENTA #12 READER (Taschen 2007) and several contributions to BROADHSEET Art & Culture, Art AsiaPacific , Inter-Asia CulturalStudies and NU The Nordic Art Review. Lucy was Founding Editor and Editor in Chief of the Singapore critical publication series FOCAS Forum on Contemporary Art & Society from 2000-2007.
Lucy holds a double Magister MA in Visual Communications and International Development Studies from the radically transdisciplinary, Roskilde University Denmark (RUC) 2000.
Photo by Tuula Vehanen