Morgane Ely

Morgane Ely’s practice mines the frenetic imagery of contemporary internet culture, transforming fleeting digital moments into enduring, tactile works of art. Her source material - gleaned from films, social networks and viral media - often features feminine figures caught in emotional or vulnerable states. Ely reclaims these ephemeral images, elevating them into feminist icons while celebrating imperfection, awkwardness, and the emotional intensity of human experience. Trained in the meticulous techniques of Japanese printmaking and woodcutting in Tokyo, Ely repurposes this rigorous, codified medium to subvert expectations. Traditionally intended for multiple prints and discarded after production, her carved plywood blocks become singular objects, displayed as finished works. This inversion of temporality turns instant, consumable images into enduring artefacts, as pixels are transformed into artisanal precision. The painstaking process - hours of engraving a fraction-of-a-second internet moment - creates a deliberate tension between ephemeral content and enduring craft. Through this lens, Ely’s work functions as a bold shrine to meme culture and popular imagery, elevating ordinary, often discarded moments into sacred relics. Viral or celebrity girls in moments of existential vulnerability are rendered with striking fidelity, turning transient online snapshots into icons of resilience and humour. Ely honours imperfection, embracing the raw, emotional and awkward as a form of empowerment. Her work challenges conventions of female portraiture, fusing craft with contemporary culture to transform the fleeting, viral and disposable into enduring, tactile objects that insist on reflection, empathy and recognition. ...

Founded by Aubrey Higgin, Chilli began as an artist-run program in 2022. In 2023 the project evolved to establish its first permanent gallery space, and has since grown into a respected voice in the London emerging art scene. The gallery prides itself on giving overlooked artists a voice with a particular focus on cultivating international artistic dialogues. Its programming focuses on diverse, emerging, international artists - united by a desire to tell untold stories of experience, identity & environment through unique painterly, material or conceptual processes. With a focus on painting, Chilli promotes cross-cultural exchange - bringing many international artists to London audiences for the first time. By showcasing artists across multiple continents, the gallery establishes a discursive critical voice - addressing diverse perspectives of art within the broader context of contemporary artistic practices. ...