Nº95: Lily Bunney
The artist talks Lauren Greenfield, Addison Rae, and her top Internet Archive picks.
We’re back with Lily Bunney. Read on to find out what she’s into, and if you’re new here, hit subscribe for an artist’s recommendations every week.
Lily Bunney (b. 1997) is an artist currently working out of London. She has a lifelong obsession with laptops.
☞ ADDISON RAE’S NEW MUSIC AND STREET STYLE: I just love it. She has this refreshing take on pop star sexiness - an almost un-selfconscious, slightly awkward sex appeal. Her outfits tend to be pared back, but saturated with clashing colours or deliberately unrefined, almost cringe moments. It’s not all hits (though all her new album slaps) but I think she’s flirting with an idea which feels very of the moment.
☞ CLARICE LISPECTOR: She’s a Brazilian novelist who, at least in my opinion, writes about (among many other things, there are lots of themes in her work) the friction between objectivity and subjectivity in femininity. The first book I read by her, the besieged city, has really stayed with me for years. (From my memory) it follows this girl growing up as her city goes through the process of industrialisation and modernism - and reflects on how we might relate to different parts of ourselves; both what we perform for others and what we reflect in our secret hearts, through the lense of modernity and pre-industry. She almost writes at the edges of conscious thought. I also have this specific translation of “the passion according to g.h” which was translated to prioritise a philosophical interpretation of her writing over a literary one. I don’t understand a lot of it but I like to read the book in a valley girl accent.
☞ GETTING EMOTIONALLY INVESTED IN SANRIO LORE: For example; Hello Kitty is five apples tall and was born in the London suburbs. Her ex boyfriend (“a dapper young penguin from the Antarctic”) Tuxedo Sam’s bust, waist, and hips all measure 100cm. Ceechynna of “Peggy” fame is a big collector of charmmy kitty (hello kitty’s pet cat her current boyfriend dear Daniel got her).
☞ LAUREN GREENFIELD: Her documentaries tend to look at femininity, wealth, beauty. She has a newish documentary on Disney plus right now called “Social Studies”, where she follows teens in LA coming out of lockdown in 2021. The documentary got permission to screen record the teenagers' phones whilst filming them, so the documentary cuts between the physical space the teens inhabit, and the digital space they occupy on their devices. Greenfield generally doesn’t impose arguments over her documentaries, so there’s quite a lot of space to interpret your own moral readings of what you’re seeing.
☞ GETTING LATE NIGHT ICE CREAM WITH YOUR FRIENDS: It’s just a pleasant activity after going to an art show or something. Maybe get an affogato and dance the night away?
Example of places to go:
My personal favorite place currently is Gelupo’s. It’s open till 11pm.
Snog frozen Yoghurt
Romeo & Giulietta Artisan Gelateria.
☞ THE FINANCIAL TIMES: I get it free at my day job and, like, I don’t agree with their general philosophy or pro-free market capitalist belief systems, but I do get a lot out of reading it. It’s like looking through the window of someone else’s home, or eavesdropping in on a conversation two bankers are having in a Pret in the City. You’re seeing the world through a different lens and there's always some value to be found in that. Also I don't know why this is important to me, but I like to be informed about the economy so if men try to explain stuff about it to me I can point out why they're wrong. Just balance it out with Garys Economics.
☞ COVENTRY CATHEDRAL: I am such a fan of Coventry Cathedral. The original cathedral was bombed during ww2. In retaliation for the bombing, the British forces did the infamous fire-bombing of Dresden.
The morning after the bombings, the people of Coventry came out to look at the remains, and two beams of wood from the cathedral had fallen into the shape of a cross. They tied the beams together and propped it up to worship, with the words "Father Forgive" engraved in the remaining stonework. A new, brutalist cathedral was built next to the remains of the old one, and this dual cathedral structure became a symbol of reconciliation and forgiveness.
I find the building historically rich, but it also contains its own art history. A lot of artists were involved in making it; there’s a giant Graham Sutherland tapestry at the back of the cathedral, and I believe some tutors at the RCA made the stained glass. I find I can get quite London-centric when I look at British art history, so it's lovely to find regional examples of art history playing out.
☞ THE INTERNET ARCHIVE: It's an invaluable research tool, I read so many essays for free on Internet Archive. You can also read general fiction books, watch movies, and probably there are other things on there I don't know about yet.
Here are some random things I've read/seen on it and enjoyed:
The World, The Flesh, and The Devil: weird sci fi essay written nearly 100 years ago, speculating about how humans could build more domes in space if we already lived in domes in space, and what life would be like if humans uploaded their dead relatives brains into computers and linked all the computers together.
A BBC Radio Adaptation of My Brilliant Friend; which is really nice studio listening
A low quality upload of The Castle of Cagliostro, a non-ghibli Miyazaki film
Zeros and Ones by Sadie Plant; a low key foundational book to my art
♪ LISTENING TO:
Coco & Clair Clair. Especially Cherub, Martini, Aggy, and Wishy Washy. They also have the best merch.
Oh My God - That's So Me, Okay Kaya's album.
☠ HATES:
Fruit. Sorry it's a textural thing, I just don’t like fruit and never have.
Art world jargon. Mainly because it makes people feel dumb.
Thanks Lily! Follow Lily here!
☞ GSTS NUDES: Our summer life drawing classes are well underway, and what’s more, they’re fun and cheap - find tickets and further info on our new website: