Introducing Alice Ellis-Bray

135 artists are taking part in "Inside Job" which takes place on the 7th and 8th of April on Level 6 of Tate Modern. Over the next few weeks The Rebel Magazine will be chatting to some of the Tate staff who are showing their artwork. Today the spotlight is on Alice Ellis-Bray.

Q) Where did you grow up and what kind of education did you receive? "Well, I was born into a highly eccentric and large family tribe. My childhood was grown living at Cape Cornwall situated near an isolated farm. The house was connected to the home where the father of eccentricity lived himself; my Grandfather Brian. I went through a generalised, systemised education and I completed this at Arts School with a Fine Art Degree. However, I actually feel my truest education was one born out of the restriction of school and into a more personal environment. With this I learnt my own true way of living through self reflection and without any overwhelming influence. By gifting myself with so much opportunity of finding unique exploration and purpose in my own time; I began understanding how to channel my true self; without any exterior expectation or judgement." Q) How long have you been working at the Tate and what's the best show you've seen there? "I’ve been working at Tate St Ives only since last year, and funnily enough the current exhibition at Tate St Ives about the ideas and work of Virginia Woolf has left me simply spellbound. I’ve become absolutely fascinated, enchanted, entranced and immersed in the show, which was beautifully curated by Laura Smith. This exhibit is most profound to me in connection to my own work because of a strong current that reflects so much within my own practice; the performance of self-identity and its ultimate connection to the psychoanalysis of self."

Q) What can you tell me about the work you're exhibiting in the Tate Modern show? "The piece I’m exhibiting was inspired and made last year in memory of my Grandfather Brian. Brian was a painter and Arts Professor at Portsmouth Polytechnic. After marrying a beautiful creative soul in 1959 called Patricia and having three interesting children; Patricia sadly fell ill with cancer and passed away when their youngest daughter was not yet 10. This was such a heartbreaking experience for Brian and their flourishing, prosperous children that he was left heavily alone in some way up until he died. He was also left unable even to work and with this tragic loss he was left without confidence or source of inspiration to ever find the light to paint again. You see my Grandfather Brian was an emotional painter, and how can you paint when you’ve become lost at sea to your own ocean of emotions? This wonderfully kind and wittily theatrical man guided me into the arts world with such a unique force of energy and courage without ever staining or criticising/ critiquing anything I had to show or in anyway how I saw the world. I believe he saw in me what he’d lost in himself and so from quickly on our relationship guided us both like the sails on a boat on a deep sea of possibility. When he died in 2016 I was left his old abandoned art materials and all these odd preserved bits of canvas, paper and boards etc all growing mould and very old. But, last year, after allowing enough time to open in between my present being to his passing, I gradually began to explore through these lost tools and discovered an old bit of folded up painted canvas. It was lagged in cobwebs and smelling of Cat piss; a lost painting by Grandfather Brian, a painting he hadn’t burnt in a fire fuelled by heartbreak. I realised in this moment I needed to do something with this; I needed to turn this painting into a dress. This costume has become a Ghost Dance Dress, conjuring up what he’d lost; returning to him the power and recognition he deserved. With his memory in mind this became A Collaboration with My Grandfather Brian. I wore this costume as a performance with him to the opening of the Modernist exhibition at Tate St Ives last year; thus giving him his place in the show a combination of the power and love we reinforced in the other."

Q) How can people find out more about your work - do you have a website or do Instagram? Instagram: @aliceellisbray @LamornaClothing Q) Is there anything you have to declare / do you have a favourite quote, thought or joke you'd care to share? "I believe we are all artists and all art is a form of identity derived purely from the expression of self. When I experience art; the art is the artist. I feel every introduction to a piece of art is like being introduced to a new person, a new life, a new story, a new way into understanding the world and how we occupy it. I encourage you to follow this understanding I’ve found with everything you meet."

"Inside Job": An exhibition of art by Tate Staff will take place on Level 6 of the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern

Introducing Jade Bowmer

135 artists are taking part in "Inside Job" which takes place on the 7th and 8th of April on Level 6 of Tate Modern. Over the next few weeks The Rebel Magazine will be chatting to some of the Tate staff who are showing their artwork. Today's artist is Jade Bowmer

Q) Where did you grow up and what kind of education did you receive? "I grew up in Cornwall in a small village called Lelant, near St Ives. I went to School and College in Truro and then went onto do my Foundation in Art & Design at Tregye. From there I went on to study for my BA Hons in Fine Art at Falmouth University graduating last year, 2017."

Q) How long have you been working at the Tate and what's the best show you've seen there? I have been working at Tate St Ives as a Tour Guide and Gallery Assistant since May 2017, so almost a year! The best show I’ve seen has got to be one of our current exhibitions inspired by the writings of Virginia Woolf showing work by over 80 Female artists from 1854 to the present day.

Q) What can you tell me about the work you're exhibiting in the Tate Modern show? "The work that I will be exhibiting in the Tate Modern show is called ‘Tidal Currents’ and is part of a new series of large resin works I’m working on at the moment inspired by the Earth’s water systems and the changes they are undergoing as a result of dramatic climate change. To explain a bit about my process - I mix and pour coloured resin onto circular boards using the heat from a butane blowtorch to facilitate the resin flow. Being lucky enough to have always lived by the sea I quite often spent time walking on beaches, watching the waves. For this piece my focus was on trying to capture and freeze the movement and depth of the flowing water in the layers of resin."

Q) How can people find out more about your work - do you have a website or Instagram? You can find out more about me and my work on my Website and social media pages below Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jadebowmerart/ Website: https://jadebowmerart.weebly.com Instagram: @jadebowmerartist

Q) Is there anything you have to declare / do you have a favourite quote, thought or joke you'd care to share? One of my favourite quotes by one of my favourite artists: “I rarely draw what I see. I draw what I feel in my body” – Barbara Hepworth

"Inside Job": An exhibition of art by Tate Staff will take place on Level 6 of the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern

Introducing Wendy Williams

135 artists are taking part in "Inside Job" which takes place on the 7th and 8th of April on Level 6 of Tate Modern. Over the next few weeks The Rebel Magazine will be chatting to some of the Tate staff who are showing their artwork. Allow me to introduce Wendy Williams

Q) Where did you grow up and what kind of education did you receive? "I was born on the Wirral (across the water from Liverpool) and went to a normal secondary school. I say normal, but it was a girls school, run by nuns. I went on to do my BA Hons in Fine Art at Birmingham Institute of Art & Design ( Loved Birmingham and stayed there for years afterwards!) I specialised in 'sculptural' paintings, and I've continued to dip between 2D & 3D work since." Q) How long have you been working at the Tate and what's the best show you've seen there? "Can't believe it, but I've been at Tate Liverpool almost 18 years (!) Staff do tend to stay a long time at Liverpool, so its not that weird! It's really hard to pick an entire show I've liked as there's always work we either love or hate in each exhibition I loved the fact that the Turner Prize moved up to Liverpool in 2008. That was a huge thing, it was just fantastic. My overall favourite though was 'Heaven'. That was around the year I started in 2000 There was just so much really beautiful work in it."

Q) What can you tell me about the work you're exhibiting in the Tate Modern show? The work I am exhibiting is based on remnants of lino and old timber that I dug up while walking in the woods. It was clearly the remains of an old building. It made me think about what was there before ... who lived there... why did they leave? Q) How can people find out more about your work - do you have a website or do Instagram? I have a website : http://wendycwilliamsdotorg.com/ Follow me on twitter @wendy8williams or on Instagram @wendwilluk Q) What's the best thing about working for the Tate? "You get to meet loads of famous people ha ha.....seriously though, Tate are quite supportive of our own art careers. In Liverpool we're given a space to exhibit our work during the Biennial years. A lot of the staff are artists, so its good to have that common interest."

"Inside Job": An exhibition of art by Tate Staff will take place on Level 6 of the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern

Introducing Willkay

135 artists are taking part in "Inside Job" which takes place on the 7th and 8th of April on Level 6 of Tate Modern. Over the next few weeks The Rebel Magazine will be chatting to some of the Tate staff who are showing their artwork. Today's artist is Willkay

Q) Where did you grow up and what kind of education did you receive? "I grew up in East London, after studying art and design at college, I went on to gain a Diploma in Art and Design Foundation at Central Saint Martins and later graduated from London College of Communication with a degree in Design For Print." Q) How long have you been working at the Tate and what's the best show you've seen there? "I have been working at the Tate for 6 months now, the best show so far has to be All Too Human, it has a traditional and new generation of artists expressing what they are influenced by."

Q) What can you tell me about the work you're exhibiting in the Tate Modern show? "More Friends questions the meaning of having a number of friends, whether you need so many, does it matter if they come different sizes and forms." Q) How can people find out more about your work - do you have a website or do Instagram? "Yes, I do Instagram/twitter @willkay_oddking and website is http://www.bywillkay.com Q) Is there anything you have to declare / do you have a favourite quote, thought or joke you'd care to share? "Feed your creativity, one day it will pay off!"

"Inside Job": An exhibition of art by Tate Staff will take place on Level 6 of the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern

Introducing Richard Mittens

135 artists are taking part in "Inside Job" which takes place on the 7th and 8th of April on Level 6 of Tate Modern. Over the next few weeks The Rebel Magazine will be chatting to some of the Tate staff who are showing their artwork. Today's artist is Richard Mittens

Q) Where were you born and where did you grow up? "London Town. Little Venice." Q) What kind of education did you receive? "Long story." Q) How long have you been working at the Tate? "About three years."

Q) What can you tell me about the work you're exhibiting in the Tate Modern show? "I was very lucky to meet Rachel Whiteread, I asked if I could paint her. She said I have not got enough time to sit for you. I said don’t worry a photo Will do. I’ve painted two paintings, from the photograph." Q) How can people find out more about your work - do you have a website or do Instagram? "I'm on Facebook and I do Instagram:

Q) What's the best thing about working for the Tate? I love Turner’s work, especially his red sky. Red sky at night shepherd's house on fire. I love being part of art, and meeting people."

"Inside Job": An exhibition of art by Tate Staff will take place on Level 6 of the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern

Introducing Ed Hadfield

135 artists are taking part in "Inside Job" which takes place on the 7th and 8th of April on Level 6 of Tate Modern. Over the next few weeks The Rebel Magazine will be chatting to some of the Tate staff who are showing their artwork. Say "Hello" to Ed Hadfield...

Q) Where did you grow up and what kind of education did you receive? I grew up in the deepest parts of suburban Surrey as a teenager in the 80’s –and London has been my home now for the last 20 years, mostly in the Brixton and Peckham areas. My art education was the most informative period of my life. I met some amazing tutors who weren’t interested in results but were interested in the development of an individual’s identity; other tutors who were always positive and other tutors that challenged you all the way; but mostly my time on an HNC in Fine Art at Kensington & Chelsea College, followed by a BA at Camberwell College of Art, was a period where I committed my self to a positive constructive philosophy of engagement using my art practice as a way to mediate my position in the world. Camberwell’s experimental painting department’s commitment to use a single honour discipline as a starting point to break new boundaries was perfect for me and I soon launched into a three year self directed course of study exploring conceptual word art, verbo-visual poetry and free verse. Alongside this I grounded my new position in the world through a group of poets called The Objectivists who focused on engagement in the present; and the capturing of somaesthetic experiences in the present guided by American philosopher John Dewey . So you could sort of say that my art education has led me to explore the world with a ‘positive field of vision’ capturing new values and experiences as they appear before me in the present moment.

Q) How long have you been working at the Tate and what's the best show you've seen there? I’ve been working as a waiter since 2011 supporting my art studies; and now as a Coffee Barista at Tate Modern since 2015….the best show I’ve seen at Tate Modern…well…I’m going to go for one of the permanent exhibits rather than a show and that would be Lawrence Weiner’s word art installation “the whole world and the work = the whole world.” The thing I like about Weiner is his understanding of how the meaning of words change in a public environment according to their context; and his articulation that artists are people who are not satisfied with the world and want to change it – I couldn’t agree more with him.

Q) What can you tell me about the work you're exhibiting in the Tate Modern show? I’m exhibiting a work at Tate Modern called ‘Affirmative 1.’ It’s a bit of an unusual one for me because it’s not based on somaesthetic experiences of the present; instead it appropriates the life affirming ‘yes saying’ philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche through an exploration of James Joyce’s novel ULYSSES. The piece explores ‘virtue ethics’ as an underlying character style or mentality that informs the way you act in the world; as well as looking at how ethics and aesthetics can be combined to affect the way people feel, think and act in the world. ‘Affirmative 1’ was originally designed for a 10 metre wide unauthorised public art installation in Peckham Square in 2016 as my art practice is primarily concerned with bringing ideas to a wider public audience on the street. Q) How can people find out more about your work - do you have a website or do Instagram? Most of my work’s on my website http://www.edhadfield.com/ or on my instagram account ed.hadfield Q) Is there anything you have to declare / do you have a favourite quote, thought or joke you'd care to share? A favourite quote…just thinking about that one…. well yes… I am a big fan of the Black Mountain poet Charles Olson. His poetry is quite pedagogic, quite instrumental in the manner in which it functions –a bit like mine- and he has an emphasis on place, on belonging, on bedding in to the local community and making a stand, on a microcosm projected into the universal – which is also sort of what I’m trying to do- and he also goes in for things like process philosophy, on the notion of change and becoming which I like as well, so here it is: “At Root what is, is no longer THINGS, but what happens BETWEEN things…”

"Inside Job": An exhibition of art by Tate Staff will take place on Level 6 of the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern

Introducing Pierre Julien

135 artists are taking part in "Inside Job" which takes place on the 7th and 8th of April on Level 6 of Tate Modern. Over the next few weeks The Rebel Magazine will be chatting to some of the Tate staff who are showing their artwork. First up is Pierre Julien...

Q: Where did you grow up and what kind of education did you receive? "I was born in Dartford Kent 1971 and part of my childhood was spent in Edinburgh from the age between 4-13 (fabulous place and people) We moved to London in the early 80s I enrolled at William Ellis School from this age have resided in London since. In 1988 I was attending a summer school at Central St Martins and then spent 2 years on foundation studies one full-time one part-time, After this period I applied to West Surrey College of Fine Art and Studied Fine Art there from 1991-1994.It whilst studying Fine Art that I was encouraged to learn printmaking at this time they had etching and some lithography practise. I felt that I needed apply for what was then an HDFA at UCL Slade School of Fine Art and began studying and specialising in printmaking after meeting Professor Bartholemew Dos Santos from 1995-1997. From this period I travelled to my fathers country Mauritius to learn about my cultural heritage. I returned to London and worked for English Heritage from 1999-2012. " Q: How long have you been working at the Tate and what's the best show you've seen there? "I started working at Tate in 2013 with Wilson James and since 2016 have been employed by Tate directly as A Visitor Assistant. As far as shows are concerned its very difficult to say whether I have had a favourite show. Part of the privelidge that i feel working there is that there is a constant influx of artists ideas and legacies. My perception of this concept has changed because of the question I would say definitely the Paul Klee and the Mattisse around the time when I started I would veer between those two . And As I continue working my opinions might very well change." Q:What can you tell me about the work you're exhibiting in the Tate Modern show? "The work that I will be exhibiting in the staff show at Tate Modern is a Collograph Print, Which is an ecological alternative to etching and can be made at and home very and easy to produce. Printed using the Brand Press at the London Print Studio In Westbourne Park London. The image is taken from a drawing which I made of the Sea view in Brighton from the Pier which I then transfer on the printing plate. After various processes and when the plate is ready I coat the printing plate with Shellac which makes the printing plate spirit proof and so one can produce editions (in Theory) Sometimes I use more than one plate to create an image and this allows freedom to experiment randomly when printing."

Q: How can people find out more about your work - do you have a website or do Instagram? "I have a page on facebook called ' PierreJulien Artworks' and also am on instagram as Pierreshaped1. For information on printmaking I am featured in a book called Printmaking on a Budget By Steve Mumberson and Mandy Bonnel. I have ideas for a website for future purposes but havent decided on the format as of yet." Q: Is there anything you have to declare / do you have a favourite quote, thought or joke you'd care to share? "As there is Picasso exhibition currently on show I will use this quote my favourite Picasso quote, 'It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child...'"

"Inside Job": An exhibition of art by Tate Staff will take place on Level 6 of the Blavatnik Building of Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern