Thomas and Maloney collective is made up of two members Kirsty Thomas and Rachel Maloney who met whilst studying on the MA Photography course at the University of Brighton.Thomas and Maloney first collaborated together for Brighton Photo Fringe 2020 with ‘Remember what binds you’ an exhibition and program of events that interrogated ideas and experiences of femininity and art practice in the domestic space. The slow and considered working techniques used by each of these artists, and the domestic subject matter their work addresses, honour and echo the traditional ‘crafts’ often associated with women, yet the medium of film and photography is often considered to be masculine. This conflict is felt throughout this collaborative work; a battle ensues between the bound and the fixed, between the masculine and the feminine, as they confront and attempt to eclipse each other. 

 

Their next show as a collective was for Brighton Photo Fringe 2022 with a work in progress show ‘A slow creeping’ which responds in part to the artists’ joint interest in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’. Written in 1890, this gothic tale recounts the experience of a woman struggling with her mental health. This exhibition was both an exorcism and a celebration of their lockdown experiences with ideas of ‘creeping’ and layers, and of a claustrophobic repetition in a suffocating domestic space, which will resonate with many in the aftermath of the pandemic. Yet the lockdowns forced them to be more introspective, to push boundaries and adapt their working methods together. It led to further dialogue and collaboration that would not have developed were it not for such unusual circumstances. 

 

Thomas & Maloney favour traditional processes, and use analogue equipment to create their work. Thomas uses a 10x8 plate camera to capture her unsettling still life scenes, all of which have been arranged and photographed by the artist. Maloney’s 16mm film footage is  shot on her Bolex camera and processed by hand, often featuring her own family photograph albums and domestic settings. 

Their work aligns not only through the analogue methods used to make it, but the way each artist uses their practice to examine the feminine relationship with looking. How things are ‘seen’, what we expect to ‘see’ and the authorship of looking have been historically masculine and influenced by the ‘male gaze’.

 

Thomas & Maloney want to continue to collaborate, to inspire and support each other.  Allow an evolution of both their individual artistic practices and their collaborative project in an organic and uninhibited way in a space of their own to explore and share.