Taking a short break from his busy schedule, working with students in the Eltham College Art Department, leading the Painting and Drawing after-school club at the Gerald Moore Gallery (GMG), and tinkering in his studio, Artist-in-Residence Rob Lye answers questions about his experiences so far at Eltham College.
GMG will be hosting Lye's solo exhibition in April – May 2026 in the Ground Floor Gallery, so please keep an eye out for it.
The next Artist-in-Residence call out will be annouced in April 2026.
What is your favourite part of being at Eltham College?
The beautiful studio is a real highlight, but equally the generosity of colleagues. I had an incredibly productive time over half-term using some of the Music Department’s facilities—music is a large part of my practice, so being able to experiment with the timpani drum was a dream come true.
Lye's studio above the Art Department.
How has the art studio supported the development of your recent work?
Having access to equipment such as the large printing trays has been transformative, allowing me to scale up ideas and develop new methods of experimentation. I’ve been working a lot with salt, allowing it to crystallise on surfaces and objects—including acoustic panels—and the trays have made it possible to push these processes much further.
What are you currently working on in the studio?
A wide range of things: laser etchings into rock, a film using spatial sound, a growing series of salt-encrusted paintings, and a lot of music.
How has working with students in the Art Department and in the Painting and Drawing Tech workshop shaped your practice?
I’ve been running a workshop on the creative uses of the scanner—something I work with constantly. While I sometimes feel as though I’ve explored every possible approach, the students immediately take it in completely new and inventive directions, which I always find inspiring. Their energy and curiosity keep my own practice moving.
Installation view of 'Reflection' with digital prints by students produced in an experimental scanning workshop led by Lye in October 2025.
What can we expect to see in your upcoming exhibition at the Gerald Moore Gallery in April–May 2026?
I’m working on a film that explores the relationship between industry and the body, shot around my hometown of Melksham in Wiltshire. Spatial sound will play a major role—I treat sound as an equal form to the moving image, and I’m interested in pushing the aural dimension of filmmaking as deeply as possible. I’ll be using ambisonic techniques to expand the musical elements of the work, and I’d love to involve some of the students’ musical talents in the score.
The gallery is such a beautiful space that I’m planning to be ambitious with the installation.
What do you hope to achieve by the end of your residency?
I will be travelling to Svalbard, in the Arctic Circle, in May to make a new film, and I hope to return and begin editing it straight away. The residency is giving me the time and space to develop both the conceptual framework and the material processes for that project.
'Listening in your sleep' (Detail) (2023) by Robert Lye. Photo courtesy of the artist.