Mona Campbell, born as Simmone, is a multi-discipline artist who focuses on self-expression to contextualize her practice.  Campbell previously used the pseudonym of ‘Eloise Gray’ briefly as an attempt to halt the use of the term ‘black artist’ and is a homage to her families combined names of Louise and Gray’. After declaring that Campbell did not wish to be pigeon-holed as a ‘black artist’ as this may position her work in a way that might centralise around black culture, Campbell instead uses the sobriquet of ‘Mona’ within her professional and personal life as this helped to minimize the wrong pronunciation of her birth name and creates a temporary distance between herself at the work as they can be inspired by difficult and/or controversial subject matters.

 

 Within her work, Campbell attempts to use satirical word play within the context of spoken word poetry and film to question the idea of authenticity of culture and race as a way to add humour to uncomfortable situations, whilst also trying to destabilize her own identity by using her own emotions to exert points of spontaneity from these objects which serves as a form of catharsis. However, also uses the mediums of performance, painting, analogue photography, installation and etching but is also attempting to use methods of digital art to question the idea of the digital space, social media and whether this has an on impact her own work as she particularly enjoys the intensity of the physical labor from traditional tools. 

 

Throughout her life Campbell has been interested in cultivating conversations around race and culture and is attempting to bring them into specific institutions by creating exhibitions including but not limited to ‘Maintaining Colour’which was an exhibition curated by herself and was produced by her and several of her peers as an attempt to celebrate race and culture but also promote BAME/POC in traditionally white institutions. Campbell is currently working with tutors and peers from Kingston University and Goldsmiths in ‘A Particular Reality’ and also encouraging conversations with  teaching staff to employ BAME/POC alumni back into universities to raise awareness at the lack of diversity and creating a sense of diversity to BAME/POC students by creating work and critiques that can produce a conversation. Campbell has been inspired by Adrian Piper, Adebayo Bolaji, Jean Michelle Basquiat, Jane Elliot and by the exhibition curated by Grace Wales Bonner entitled ‘A Time for New Dreams.’

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Currently, ‘Mona’ is exploring the performative aspect of childhood, social media, fiction and the concept of being a ‘millennial’ through producing hand drawn books inspired by manga with text and is in the process of producing a survival guide for art school as a person of colour and is hoping to continue to force conversations on the lack of diversity in certain institutions. In future, Campbell hopes to progress to a PHD, is aiming to pursue a career in the conservation of antiquities or to be an art therapist but is presently making efforts to publish a graphic novel.