The Lost Girl  is an immersive film-based installation by artist and King's academic Kate McMillan that depicts a young woman living in a cave on a desolate English coastline. The film combines various research interests including climate change and the Anthropocene; the role of creativity in forming memory and the consequences of neglecting female histories.

The exhibition is a collaborative project presented by the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King’s College London with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts; Arts Council England and the Arts & Humanities Research Institute at King’s.

The Private View on Tuesday 14 January was attended by guests from across the Faculty, the artist and her family, as well as members of the cultural community around King's. The event gave guests the opportunity to view the installation and hear from Kate and Professor Marion Thain, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Humanities, who officially opened the exhibition. 

 

Speaking at the launch, Kate elaborated on the context of the project, describing her thinking around creating new work amidst the backdrop of climate change. She spent a year collecting debris from coastlines, some of which is featured in the exhibition, and considered how creativity is used 'to respond to the world we find ourselves in'.

The character of the film is without language and prior knowledge, making sense of her existence only through detritus. Plastic bags are fashioned into dress and a discarded fire engine horn becomes a trumpet. A sourced, mid-century navigation box is used as a game, and features as a sculpture in the exhibition alongside other found objects from the film.

The project includes a programme of free events, including artist tours, workshops, a special-interest symposium and an in conversation event on 21 January where Kate will talk in-depth about the project and her art practice with Dr Jessica Rapson, Senior Lecturer in Cultural and Creative Industries at King's.  

The exhibition is open from 13 January until 28 February 2020, Monday – Friday, 12.00 – 17.00. Admission is free and open to all.

The Lost Girl is an exhibition by Kate McMillan presented by the Department of Culture, Media and Creative Industries at King’s College London with funding from the Australia Council for the Arts; Arts Council England and the Arts & Humanities Research Institute at King’s. The exhibition and events programme is supported by the university’s Culture team.

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#KingsCulturalCommunity | #TheLostGirl

The Arcade at Bush House is part of the Strand Cultural Quarter at King’s College London, home to a diverse programme of events, installations and exhibitions featuring the #KingsCulturalCommunity

Photography by Jo Mieszkowski