“The correlation between water and print began for Lacey after learning of and filming the disused swimming pool in the basement of the St Bride Foundation [London],” writes curator Melanie Oliver. “Established in 1891, the Foundation originally provided a place for employees from the Fleet Street publishing industry to relax and socialise. Workers from the newspaper printers would immerse themselves in this murky swimming pool, washing off the residual ink and news of the day... Transforming this history, Lacey washed sheets of the local newspaper until the content dissolved, turning newsworthy images and articles into abstract forms of muted, grainy colour... This process of translation and mediation follows her ongoing interest in the fluidity of language and the instability of information systems.” (2018)

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Sonya Lacey (b. 1976, New Zealand) is a Tauranga-based artist whose practice focuses on forms of communications within spoken, printed, and online scenarios. She works with a variety of mediums including performance, video, and installation often drawing on historical references to speculate on the specificity of socio-technological discourses. Alongside her studio practice, Lacey is also interested in curatorial, publishing, and collaborative methodologies. Together with Sarah Rose, she established the collaborative research project lightreading. (Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore)