British artist Alex Billingham works at the intersection of live art, film, visual practice, performance, sculpture and digital media, creating immersive worlds where vulnerability, survival and transformation take centre stage. Based in the West Midlands with an international practice, Billingham draws from lived experiences of disability, queerness, trans identity and neurodiversity to shape work that is both deeply personal and expansively universal.
Blending bubble-gum aesthetics with ethereal post-human landscapes, Billingham’s practice explores memory, time, ecological connection and the fragile boundaries of the body. Their ongoing five-year research project, WAYFINDER, investigates memory loss and our relationship to time through intergalactic ley lines, asking how we might imagine better ways to survive into the future. Through projects such as Neon Caverns, commissioned by LEVEL Centre, Billingham creates richly layered environments where analogue experimentation, low-fi digital technology and speculative futures collide.
Having performed for Tate St Ives and exhibited internationally across institutions including Auckland University of Technology and the Indus Valley School of Art in Karachi, Billingham’s work continues to push across disciplines and borders. With work held in the permanent collection of The New Art Gallery Walsall, their practice remains rooted in research, collaboration and a constant reimagining of what it means to endure, adapt and belong.
Are you self-taught, or did you undertake formal artistic training?
I trained at Cumbria institute of the arts at the turn of the millennium before flinging myself out into the world. Over time I’ve adapted and altered my practice to a encompass a wide range of disciplines. Learning each skill I need to make the work exist. Most recently learning 8mm film processing and Unreal Engine.
How would you define your visual language or conceptual approach?
With a practice that actively strips written language out of it I’ve built a rich visual style. Often falling into 2 halves – Eerily haunting and beautifully delicate or harsh queer neon Disko tech.
A lot of materials and motifs resurface in my practice, supporting each other. While the works are all separate, they clearly co-exist in a cannon-less manner.
Queer heritage and disabled or crip time govern a lot of my visual language and are never far from the surface. Being raised on a diet of Nuclear dread and Dr who my work has a strong feeling of re-discovering a lost reel of 1970’s sci-fi.
Can you describe your creative process from conception to completion?
This varies with each work but generally it begins with a combination of heavy research and physical making – they don’t need to correlate, although they usually do. I simply find that the act of physically making while absorbing the research helps me build a kind f muscle memory for the information. A physical tangible link to the ideas. Less academic and more emotive.
Once this is done, I usually use Live art as a physical mapping tool. Connecting my ever-changing body with the ideas and research. Allowing that time to seep into my limbs and guide my movements.
These reactions are usually recorded leading to film versions available in galleries and online. But also inform the structure of the exhibitions and any physical works made.
Most Recently I had a residency with Hospitalfields in Arbroath / Scotland where I made the soundtrack for a project I’ll be working on for the next 4 years WAYFINDER. Traditionally I add the soundtracks into my work at the end but this time I wanted to reverse that and build a guide soundtrack first which the Live art mapping can respond to.
Once all this is done, I begin to map out the work over an existing structures so I have a guide for making it. This is most clear in my feature films Neon Caverns 2025 commissioned by Level Centre based on geological categories / Transuranic Elements commissioned by The Art Gallery Walsall and Art Fund 2023 based on the lunar cycle / ICEWORM – self-made during Covid 2021 based on the water cycle.
Does narrative, symbolism, or storytelling play a role within your work?
Both yes and no. I’ll often strip language and traditional Hollywood narrative structures out of my work as all too often I find work which relies on you understanding English. I remember going to one Venice biennale and being surprised that everything was in English irrespective of country. I prefer work where it connects outside of language and narrative and then these elements can be reintroduced afterwards as additions.
As mentioned, I map the work onto existing natural cycles as I like looping work where you can dip in and out of it without having felt you’ve missed the start.
One of my biggest influences in the use of symbolism within art has been the colour of pomegranates. This film really helped me break out of a kind of Hollywood approach to film and be more experimental.
Which artists have most influenced you historically or contemporarily and why?
I pull influences from so many sources but currently Lucy Wright is a source of joy to me. Their work looks at folk as a modern living feminist medium. I love the life and vitality of the work especially as I connect more to the physical crafting side of my practice.
An all-time Favourite is Rachel Maclean whose work is just astonishingly good, the first time I saw they work was on the trip to Venice. Spite your face was playing in an ancient Chapple. It felt like walking into another world quite literally. I love their approach to making work and constantly feel inspired by them.
Historically Ithell Colquhoun – I was lucky enough to be down in St Ives on a 16 mm film course when the Tate were doing a massive retrospective of this forgotten artist. As I walked the rooms and fell into the pieces I felt so seen and so connected to queer trans history. It actually made me cry in the exhibition.
And of course – Hether Phillipson – I’ve been lucky enough recently to be mentored by them, and it’s been a joy to have their perspective on my practice and work. I saw their work years ago up in the Baltic – a giant cat litter tray over the gallery and a massive projection of a black cat with industrial artifacts littering the tray. Well, how could I not love the work really?
What personal, cultural, or environmental influences shape your practice?
As I saw I pull from a lot of sources – Water divination / Historic outdated sci-fi / the owl service / Jeanette Winterson / Cameo / Pixel grip / Hagstones / Climbing / glass buoys / queer clubs / medical slides / caves / rock formations / pop videos / Nuclear heritage – the list doesn’t end.
When you get art that only references other art it can become quite insular and detached from the reality we all live in. I love throwing a mix of things into the pot and seeing how the collide and intermingle.
Also, I find myself treating the space where the work is made or exhibited in as an active collaborator. Not just a setting for a film but actually influencing the work. How I interact with the space, altering how I make work. Recently I had a development time with Summerhall arts up in Edinburgh – specifically in their historic anatomy laboratory. Its and unbelievably beautiful space and full of history and stories – even new ones. I tried out a bunch of work but as I lay down to image what being one of the corpses in the space was like the space changed and felt very hurt. I immediately stopped / apologised to the space and changed what I was doing.
Where is your studio based, and how does the space inform your creativity?
I have a studio with freehouse in Birmingham UK – it’s a great space as there’s such a mix of people trying out all types of work. I tend to keep that space fairly clear so I can film and perform in it. Bu there is a very comfortable yellow rocking chair in the one corner for me.
It provides a space away from home where I can resettle my mind and drift into other ways of thinking / seeing the world. I often find that ten minutes in a studio alters how I’m working on something.
Do you have any rituals or rhythms that anchor your studio practice?
Most recently I’ve taken up doing automatic mark making by using a Planchette – a historical way of contacting the dead – I use it as a way of allowing movement outside of my control. I like to think that dark matter or other intergalactic forces we’re unaware of are helping to influence its movements. Like how atoms react differently once observed as the act of observation alters their nature.
Once these drawings are complete, I begin reworking them with watercolours using water I’ve collected at various site visits. Currently the water from the North Sea near Hospitalfield is being used. Sometimes following the lines sometimes spilling out on their own.
I love the fluid nature of water colours the fact they are so unforgiving – there are no mistakes just ways the water wants to go and will drag you along with it.
What bodies of work or projects are you currently developing?
WAYFINDER
It’s a massive 5-year project which I’m 1 year into the research and development stage of. Fundamentally looking at memory loss and dementia in relation to black holes and time distortion. Is Dementia just a form of time travel? Can we make experiencing time out of order easier?
I’ve had development time with the following.
- BOARC an artistic research centre built into historic observatories in the hills near Liverpool.
- Summerhall Arts in Edinburgh working in an historic anatomy lab.
- Research trips to Brighton and the New forest.
- An interdisciplinary residency with Hospitalfields in Arbroath Scotland.
- Currently working with Stryx Birmingham as a mentor and residency / solo show where I’ll deliver the first results of WAYFINDER acting as a test exhibition of the work to come.
The Project breaks down into 7 sub projects ranging from Live art / theatre performances – Feature length films – soundtrack albums – sculptural work and computer games / apps.
It’s a vast project and is the largest thing I’ve attempted so far but I love how it’s developing and being influenced by the people I meet and the conversations we have.
Where can collectors encounter or acquire your work?
Mostly online via my website or Vimeo pages as I like to keep things live so it’s more accessible. My work has also been acquired by The New Art Gallery Walsall for their permanent collection. And I’ll be having a residency and solo show with Stryx in Birmingham this September / October 2026. Other than that I tend to be in a mix of shows so keep your eyes on my Instagram for more details.
For more information visit https://alexbillingham.co.uk/
