Artist Spotlight: Eli Walkden slvrfshmetalwlf

Interview & Photographs: Eerie Rose Artworks & Bio: Eli Walkden slvrfshmetalwlf

Eli Walkden slvrfshmetalwlf (she/he) is a figurative portrait artist based and living in London. As a trans woman artist, her work explores the depths of trans bodies and raw, kinky queer sexuality. Often shorthanded as 'Transexual Sex Propaganda', slvrfshmetalwlf's work is a highly stylised archive of transness, attraction and his own sex life. Walkden's work is created for a transexual audience, and doesn't shy away from the more murky, gritty sides of lust and desire, instead championing kink in a face-value 'what you see is what you get' manner. As a butch trans woman, her work also faces the expectations of the modern trans woman living in the UK currently, and instead smashes them with a boisterous, boyish attitude.

Firstly - congratulations on the exhibition! How did your work end up as part of ‘UNCENSORED PLEASURES,’ and how has it been showcasing your work in this context?

Thank you very much! It was such a well curated show, and such a beautiful space at LADA to exhibit in. I had actually exhibited three pieces at Fringe! [Queer Film & Arts Fest] the previous year, and so this time round curator Kane Stonestreet asked if I was interested in returning for an erotic dyke art show - how could I say no? I'm so happy to have been exhibited among some really amazing peers. This year we’ve gone for five works, I actually only had around 8 weeks to prepare my work for this show, and managed to turnaround two new pieces exclusively for it, it was a whirlwind but so so worth it.

It’s been such a treat having my work exhibited with Fringe! again, I think queer audiences are hungry for unabashed sexuality right now and I’m ready to give it to them.

How did your artistic style develop - what path led you to the type of work you make now?

Well when my figurative portraiture practice took form around in 2022 I started with pretty much exclusively self-portraiture. Really as a way to actualise myself, I was at a place in my personal life where I really had to try and rebuild myself within a new framework, and drawing myself was a great way to achieve that. I think at that point in my life I was really in need of imagery of the trans woman I am - butch, sexual, dominant, a top. There’s still such a lack of opportunity for a trans woman who isn’t the right type of trans woman. So I guess that was my start.

It was pretty fast though, that people took notice of my works and I think there was a curiosity to see other subjects in my style. My works were pretty unashamedly sexy from the start, I think people saw a confidence in that that we all strive for in our own ways. So I started doing portraits of friends, or lovers, or exes and here we are.

Your style is distinctive in both its visual look as well as subject matter. With a focus on portraiture, of yourself and others, how does your very specific choice of materials help you express the messages in your work? I love the accessibility of your tools - paper, ink, pen. Such foundational building blocks, it evokes in me a sense of empowerment - that you don't need to afford wild materials to be able to create art, and perhaps you can also morph and manipulate your body into what you desire in a similar way.

Oh I totally agree, the imposed hierarchy of highbrow/lowbrow in fine art always makes me sigh. As you note I pretty much exclusively am using inks or graphite in my works currently, it was very much a conscious financial choice - I used to paint, I used to sculpt, work in metal, all sorts, but ultimately it wasn’t sustainable for a growing arts practice. The presentation of such crude mediums in a fine art context is super empowering to me, and very much in the DIY spirit of 5.18.

I think as well that the medium I work in can be so time consuming, pointillism looks pristine and printed perfect but ultimately it’s a very arduous process. I like to imagine that the durational aspect of recreating a body on paper is one of the horniest things one can do. Just so many hour laboured over the paper is really quite erotic, but I doubt you’d say that if you saw my posture while I work.

You also stick to a limited colour palette - has this always been the way or did you develop this over time?

So I don’t stick exclusively to the Slvrfshmetalwlf red, black and white but it’s definitely recognisable in my work. I think generally a minimalist palette has a stylish charm - often my work is likened to riso prints for that reason, and I like that.

A simple red, black and white evokes a lot for me, it’s white hot lust, it’s political propaganda, it’s industrial street signage. In my personal life red has tons of significance, my colour palette bleeds into the clothes I wear, or the decor in my home. I have a lot of psychotic feelings for red as a form of psychological protection and empowerment.

You studied art at university - how was that experience for you? How did it shape the type of work you make?

I did! I got my BA in Fine Art Mixed Media and currently partaking in an MA of Global Contemporary Art both here in London at University of Westminster. I think my first instance with art school was great for exploring lots of avenues and disciplines, and I love academia, but it doesn’t come without its issues.

At the exhibition, we discussed your experience making work for tutors (particularly cishet men, for example) and an audience sometimes felt invasive or to make a spectacle of the trans body or experience, to some degree. Could you elaborate on that? How are you combatting that feeling in your current work?

It’s true, I definitely have a lot of hard feelings for art school and working within institutions that are predominantly cisgender. I often feel misunderstood when my work is consumed by a non-trans audience and it’s led to some awkward moments throughout my academic career. For a year of my studies once I flat out refused to show my work to any cis faculty - it felt exploitative to be mindlessly giving my work, my body over to these academics.

Don’t get me wrong, my work is often met with positive remarks from outsiders, but it can sometimes feel a little hollow without that lived experience to draw from. My work is not for cishet academics who read loads of queer studies, my work is for transexuals who know how to fuck!!! Despite all of that I did choose to return to an art school institution, so now it’s all about existing within this framework but still being critical where I need to be.

A lot of artists that take commissions aren't very emotionally invested in the pieces they make for other people, however you seem to get really beautiful and special commissions that mean a lot to you, and result in really incredible pieces. How do you feel when working on ideas for a commission?

Whenever I portrait anyone it really becomes a labour of love (or lust), it feels so intimate to understand someone’s body in such a way to replicate it on paper. Ever inch, or fold or wrinkle. I’m so so lucky that my audience and my clients are on my wavelength, I get some really raunchy commission requests these days to sink my teeth into. I feel as though creating these works that are so unashamed has really brought the freaks my way with some really smart and sexy concepts.

You recently began a masters - how has it been so far, and how do you think it will develop and expand your work?

So far so good! One thing I love about working within art school is how I can give my practice a lot more time - to create larger scale, more ambitious works. The inspiration gained from working within this creative institution has led me to my largest scale work yet, which I’ve been toiling over this winter, and starting other projects like the Unnamed Transexuals Artist Mafia Collective.

The future is bright, my work feels impassioned right now and I’m excited to see how my current projects develop into the new year.

Eli Walkden slvrfshmetalwlf works for exhibition, print and commission, and can be found online at @slvrfshmetalwlf