- Lala Meredith-Vula
Lala Meredith-Lula (born 1966) is a Kosovan artist and photographer, associated with the
Young British Artists (YBAs).Life and work
Lala Meredith-Vula was born in
Sarajevo and moved toEngland in 1970. She attended Trent University,Nottingham (1984-/85) and Goldsmiths College (1985-88), then theUniversity of Priština , Kosovo, for postgraduate studies.In 1988 she was one of the exhibitors in the seminal YBA show "Freeze" show, organised by
Damien Hirst . Since then she has exhibited widely internationally.From 1989 she has lectured at various colleges in the UK, US and Kosovo. In 1995 she set up the first photography department at the
University of Tirana ,Albania , and in 2000 a photography department at Priština University.A particularly significant experience for Meredith-Vula was a series of photographs in Kosovo showing haystacks built by Albanian farmers. The juxtaposition of her cosmopolitan art experience with her provincial origin, asking the question "What is art?", provided a resolution of the two:She has also photographed women in Turkish baths over a two year period (6 months of which was gaining permission), and a series showing women standing and moving beneath the surface of water. She has explained this::"Women and Water" is about the beauty and imperfection of the free body underwater. Many women feel themselves deformed by social influences particularly in the West. In the water they are free to dissolve and re-appear as a part of nature both classical and expressive.
Her work can be found in a range of major art collections including, but not limited to: Arts Council of Britain, Arthur Andersen Collection, Centre of Photography in Geneva, Collezione La Gaia, Doria Pamphilj Gallery Collection, Doria Pamphilj Palace Museum, The Teseco Foundation, The British Council Collection.
Awards
*1997 London Art Board's "Individual Artists Award".
*1998 "Special Jury Prize", PhotoSynkria Festival, Greece.
*1998 "Flash Art" Prize, Onufri '98, National Gallery, Albania.
*2001 Sargent Fellowship, British School, Rome, Italy
*2002 "Paul Hamlyn Award" nominee.
*2006 Bryan Robertson Trust Artist Award.Notes and references
External links
* [http://www.lalameredithvula.com Lala Meredith-Vula website]
* [http://www.heyokamagazine.com/HEYOKA3-Lala-Meredith-Vula.htm Interview and Turkish Bath photos]
* [http://www.myartspace.com/blog/2007/08/art-space-talk-lala-meredith-vula.html Lala Meredith-Vula Interviewed by Brian Sherwin- myartspace.com]
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