Aoife van Linden Tol
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BIOGRAPHY
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Beginning in 2000 Aoife van Linden Tol's work with explosives fused her interests in nature, cosmology, chemistry and physics. A multi-disciplinary artist her practice spans sculpture, installation, drawing, photography and performance. She creates abstract works which often examine concepts of time, density and matter as well as deep human emotions and motivations.

With a minimal aesthetic, a sense of balance and an appreciation for natural forms Aoife van Linden Tol's work is beautifully raw and dynamic. The explosive medium can result in devastatingly ravaged and torn pieces, such as with the Meta series of bombs on sheet copper and aluminium, which command a powerful visceral connection with the viewer. The work has thus evoked strong emotional responses from audiences where viewers have spontaneously shared intimate and sensitive histories with the artist. Yet her versatility and skill with the medium allows her to make surprisingly small, delicate, and even humorous works. With The One I Love series, for example,  she asked the public to contribute photographs of someone they loved. X's were then exploded onto the photographs with tiny amounts of gunpowder thus 'blowing kisses' to loved ones.

A joy of learning, constantly questioning mind and a keen analytical nature has instilled a scientific approach to research, testing and making. Graduating from Central St Martins College of Art and Design in 2002, with a BA Hons in Art & Design, Aoife van Linden Tol exhibits internationally.  Including at the ICA, London, the San Francisco MOMA, USA, NGBK Berlin, Ars Electronica Festival. Aoife has worked with physicists at Imperial College, was commissioned by Disney to design a limited edition model Star Wars BB-8 robot and installed a large scale explosive event in Trinity Square for the Science Gallery Dublin's 10th anniversary celebrations. Aoife was artist in residence at the European Space Agency & Ars Electronica Futurelab in 2017 and regularly presents talks, workshops lectures and seminars internationally.

Featured: 
1978                   Born in Co Cork, Ireland
1982                   Family moved to London
2009-2011         Director and curator of Tank Gallery, London
2009-2016         Director of Artful Badger 
arts and theatre company  
2016-                  Director of FERAL 
arts and events  
2018-                  
Vice Chair of The International Astronautical Federation Committee for the Cultural Utilisation of Space (ITACCUS) 
   

EDUCATION

2016                  Theatrical Pyrotechnics Safety
2015                  Pyrotechnic Chemistry
2005                  Introduction to Curating, Central St Martins,
2005                  Cosmology, City Literary College
1999–2002       BA Arts and Design, Central St Martin's College of Art and Design
2001                  City & Guilds Explosives Foundation Course, International School for Safety and Explosive Education
1998-1999        Art and design Foundation, Central St Martin's College of Art and Design
1997-1995        A-levels: Art, Chemistry, Mathematics

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015                  Scorched, The Vaults, London
2009                  Blowing My Dreams, allgirls international art, Berlin
                           A Stitch In Time, Tank Gallery, London
                           Once Upon a Fraction of Time and Other Stories, Brandenburgischer Kunstverein, Potsdam
2008                  Meta Works II, Artist studio, London
2006                  Explosions on Paper, Cole St Gallery, Lubeck, Germany
2002                  Meta Works, The Sun, London
                           One 12,875,00th of a Second, St Barnabas Church, London

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019                   FIRE: Flashes to Ashes in British Art 1692-2019, The Royal West of England Academy, Bristol, United Kingdom
2018                   THE BOMB, Exhibition, Sydney Festival, Sydney, Australia
2017                   KOSMICA Film Night, Cine Tonalá, Roma Sur, Mexico City, Mexico
                            Art of Space, ESTEC, European Space Agency, Noordwijk, Netherlands
                            ALMA 1854, The Alma, London
                            Lumen: School of Light, Ugly Duck, London
2016                   Second Story Linz, Alchemists of Art and Science, Ars Electronica Centre, Linz, Austria
                            DARKNESS CANNOT DRIVE OUT DARKNESS, ONLY LIGHT CAN DO THAT, Lights of Soho, London
                            BB-8GR8 Disney Star Wars, Force for Change Charity Auction, London
                            Global Shine Foundation Charity Auction, London                     

2012                   Art Licks Annual, ICA, London
2011                   Carbon, Trinity, London
                            Adrift, Aoife van Linden Tol & Aliceson Carter, Tank, London
2010                   Carry On Capital, Vincent van Scoff Gallery, London
                            Books in Limbo, Tank, London
2009                   Plum Pudding, Tank Gallery, London
                            The Grand Plasto-Baader-Books, Kaleid Editions, London
                            P I G M E N T & P U L P, Tank Gallery, London
                            Think Tank, Tank Gallery, London
                            1st Public White Cube: Situation Doom, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, USA
2008                   X 2008, allgirls international art, Berlin
2007                   Achtung Sprengarbeiten! (Caution! Blasting Operations!) ngbk, Berlin, Germany.
2005                   Trunk Show, The Women's Library, London
2003                   Directions Exhibition, Lethaby Gallery, London
2002                   BAAD, Degree Show, Central St Martins, London
2000                   The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud Museum, London
1999                   Masque, Bar Local, Barcelona

PERFORMANCE & LIVE ART
2020                   Moon Blast, Moon Bar, virtual event for University of the Underground
2019                   Orchestra of Destruction, Demolition Season, Ovalhouse, London, UK
2018                   Réalta, Science Gallery 10th Anniversary, Trinity Square, Dublin, Ireland
2017                   Star Storm, Ars Electronica Festival, Linz, Austria
                            Make Your Mark, European Space Agency, Netherlands
2016                   Smash & Burn - Interactive art event, Science Gallery, Dublin
                            Radical Atoms & the Alchemists of our Time, Ars Electronica Festival, Linz
                           
Royal Academy of Arts Summer Festival, London
                            Hackney WickED LATE, Mick's Garage, Queens Yard, London                        
2015                  
Wild Worlds: Dark Sides, VAULT Festival
2014                   Carbon, Wild Worlds at VAULT Festival, London
                            Spellbound,
Wild Worlds at VAULT Festival, London
                            Time Travellers Lost Love, Shoreditch House, London
2010                   Pagan Epic, Secret Garden Party, UK
                            Carry On Capital, Vincent van Scoff Gallery, London
                            In Limbo, Tank, London
2009                   Land of Ideas, BAM (Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing) Berlin
                            POLICE AND VIOLENCE, curated by Mark McGowan, Sassoon Gallery, London
                            The One I Love, Brockley Max Festival, Tank Gallery, London


SELECTED TALKS, DEMONSTRATIONS & INTERVIEWS
2020                   Interview for Space Rocks: Uplink
2019                   Interview with Ryan Mcgranaghan for Origins podcast.
                            Instinct & Intention, Lecture at the International Space University, Strasbourg, France
                            Alive in Space, Panel Discussion at the International Astronautical Congress, Washington DC, USA
                            Introducing The Orchestra Of Destruction, Interview with Robert Elms show, BBC Radio London
                            Star Storms, Talk at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Goddard, USA 
2018                   Chaos and Creation, Lecture at the International Space University, Strasbourg, France
                            Chaos and Creation: Presentation at The Conscious Culturing of Space, International Astronautical Congress, Bremen
                            Our Place in Space, Panel Discussion at GLOBART, Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria            
                            
Rules of Engagement: Keynote Speaker at Sparks Forum, Brussels, Belgium
                            KOSMICA: Interactive presentation at Ethereal Things, Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Sunderland, UK
​2017                   Key note speaker at 'STEAM:  It is working?' SCI:COM, Dublin, Ireland
                            The Art of Science, Lecture at the International Space University, Strasbourg, France
                            Art, Science and Explosives, Virtual Talk for Cities in Space Conference, Austin, Texas, USA
                            Just a "Fly-by" or really a "Rendezvous"?,  European Digital Art and Science Network  Symposium,  Ars Electronica Festival.
                            Creative Practitioners in Space, Paper Presentation at the International Astronautical Congress, Adelaide, Australia
                            Artist Talk at Deep Space 8K, Ars Electronica Center, Austria
                            Artist Talk at Hallsville Primary School, London
2016                   Espresso for the Mind, Frankfurt Book Fair, Germany
                            Impact, interactive workshop for young people at the Science Gallery, Dublin, Ireland
                            Introducing Spectra art series, Imperial Festival, Imperial College, London 
                            Prix Ars Electronica Forums – Art & Science Panel Talk, Ars Electronica Festival 2016, Linz, Austria
                            Interview with Goldierocks, Bestival Weekly on Soho FM.
2015                   Panel Discussion for SheSaid.So, Shoreditch House, London
2006                   Reportage Aoife, Deutschlandfunk Radio
2005                   Interview with Aoife van Linden Tol by Scarlet Bochan
2002                   Interview with Aoife van Linden Tol by Phoung Quan



MEMBERSHIPS/FELLOWSHIPS
The Royal Society of Arts Fellow
​Women in Aerospace
British Association of Journalists 
Production Services Association
a-n The Artists Information Company
UAL Alumni



SELECTED WRITING & PUBLICATIONS MY ARTWORK IS FEATURED IN:
Paper: The Conscious Culturing of Space, International Astronautical Congress, 2018
Paper: Can Artist Change the Future of Culture in Space beyond Design?, International Astronautical Congress, 2017
Article: Chaos and Creation, Room, The Space Journal, 
Art work: Story of an Electron, Wild Alchemy Journal, April 2021
Featured: AI - Artificial Intelligence, Ars Electronica Festival 2017 
Featured: The Practice of Art & Science, Ars Electronica, The European Digital Art & Science Network. 2017
Article: Without Walls, Art Licks Magazine, 2012
Dissertation: What is Landscape Art?, 2002
Exhibition Catalog: Achtung Sprengarbeiten! ISBN 978-3-938515-10-5, 2007

Copies of selected writing can be requested via info@aoifevanlindentol.com

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​© Aoife van Linden Tol 2015