Laura Porter’s work exists in the liminal spaces—between material and memory, structure and decay, the human-made and the organic. Born in Lewisham and now based between North Devon and South London, her practice is rooted in transformation—of materials, labor, and the ways we assign value to both.
Porter works with discarded clothing, breaking garments down to their rawest forms and reshaping them into sculptural structures. These fabrics, embedded with histories of land, labor, consumption, and waste, are reassembled in ways that challenge hierarchies of material and productivity. Rejecting an automated, digitized world, she engages in slow, bodily processes—repetitive, labor-intensive acts that question the cultural obsession with efficiency.
Her work pushes at the boundaries of what is living and what is inert, what is ruin and what is renewal. In her hands, the built environment becomes something else—shifting, evolving, absorbing time and energy like a living organism, existing in the in-between, neither fixed nor forgotten. Alongside her practice and various other side projects and work, she is the founding director and curator of Studio KIND., a contemporary art space in Braunton, Devon.
Since living in South London, South London Gallery has become a regular part of my week. They have brilliant exhibitions across their two sites, and the café is an ideal spot to sit and work. You can’t beat an art gallery café.
Having grown up in Kent, I’ve loved visiting Margate since Turner Contemporary opened. It’s a brilliant gallery with high-profile artists while also supporting local art. The gallery café is great, and there are lots of independents popping up around the area. There are also some great vintage and antique shops nearby, plus little gems for a drink at the end of the day. Highly recommend for a day trip close to London. (If you’re visiting, get in touch with local artist Jack Hirons and ask to visit his studio!)
Our favourite music spot in London is Green Note in Camden. It’s small, intimate, and has a relaxed vibe, with lots of folk and alternative acts. My partner and I have played there a lot, and some of our favourite musicians (like Josh Flowers!) are regulars. Music evenings always feel good for the soul.
My favourite place for food has to be Tirana, Albania. The city is full of independent, beautifully styled restaurants run by young entrepreneurs, serving incredible food and drink. The cuisine is very Southern European fusion, with strong Greek and Italian influences—and plenty of cheap wine. We spent a few weeks travelling through the Balkans, and it was a culinary delight.
Another favourite is Malaysia, where the mix of Malay, Indian, and Chinese cultures makes for some of the best eating experiences in the world. We had chapatis and dhal for breakfast, nasi goreng for lunch, sun-dried anchovies from Penang as snacks, and fresh noodles for dinner. Even the coffee—super sweet and delicious—was an experience.
For drinking and partying, Cape Town is the best. Local vineyards in Constantia, Striped Horse beers, cocktails in Kalk Bay. If you’re there for First Thursdays, head into the city—galleries stay open late, there are pop-up bars and street food, and the whole place comes alive and everyone mingles between all the arts venues.
I’m not big on shopping, so most of the places I come across are on my daily walk between Brixton and Camberwell. That said, these three have become regulars for me, and they’re all gems.
Whoever is dressing the mannequins at Traid on Acre Lane in Brixton is absolutely killing it—it’s worth visiting just for that. It’s a well-run second-hand store with a really solid selection, and they often have sales on top of already reasonable prices. Definitely my favourite clothing shop in South London.
Diverse on Coldharbour Lane is my go-to for gifts. They stock books, plant pots, jewellery, and homeware, mostly from local brands. And The Nunhead Gardener in Camberwell is the best for houseplants—full to the brim with greenery, plus candles and other lovely bits. If you’re after cheap plants, New Covent Garden Market in Battersea is a great shout—they sell wholesale, with loads of dried flowers too.
Being freelance and running a business, it’s hard to ever justify downtime—I’m the first to admit I need to work on that. But I’ve found that crochet before bed really helps.
It switches off the inner monologue and slows everything down. It’s great if you always feel like you have to be productive, because you still get the satisfaction of making something, but it’s also meditative. I love focusing on the unimportant things of ‘what colour shall I do next?’ as opposed to all the big decisions we have to make day-in, day-out.
If I’m particularly stressed or anxious, I let myself indulge in a bit of trash TV. It’s a guilty pleasure, but it’s almost a coping mechanism for when I can’t switch off—especially if I’m on my own. Shout out to RuPaul’s Drag Race.
During the winter I’ve started taking Vitamin D supplements—I’ve noticed they’ve made a huge difference to my energy levels and outlook during the colder months. I love the sun—If it’s a sunny day, no matter how busy I am, I give myself an hour or two to sit, eyes closed, let that warmth encompass me. It’s very therapeutic—I always feel better for it.
Discovering Jannis Kounellis introduced me to the Arte Povera movement from 1960s Italy, which has probably influenced my practice the most. The artists in this movement had a material-focused, process-driven approach that pushed beyond traditional art boundaries, and that way of thinking has stayed with me.
I met my friend and collaborator, Lee Mok Yee, at university, and we’ve been working together ever since. It’s rare to find someone who shares the same visual language and material concerns, and I’m really grateful for our partnership. We’ve already had some incredible opportunities, and I’m excited for what’s coming next.
The Bruges Triennale is one of my favourite art events. I first went in 2015, and I was blown away by how it merges art, architecture, and urban space. It made me think differently about how art can exist outside of galleries, within cities, and in conversation with its surroundings.
Peer Gallery in East London puts on an incredible series of solo exhibitions, always showcasing ambitious work that pushes boundaries.
Camden Arts Centre consistently delivers high-quality, thought-provoking exhibitions with real cultural depth. The space itself is beautiful, and I always leave feeling inspired.
Zeitz MOCAA (Museum of Contemporary Art Africa) in Cape Town is one of the best galleries I’ve ever been to and, I think, one of the most important art spaces in the world. The building—designed by Thomas Heatherwick—is incredible, and the work they showcase is equally powerful. They highlight contemporary artists from across Africa, and I’ve discovered some of my absolute favourites here, like Nobukho Nqaba.
Unsurprisingly, all my favourite people at the moment are artists. These three are London-based women working across sculpture, installation, drawing, and writing—each exploring, in different ways, how we interact with material, space, and environment.
Vlatka Horvat works with displacement, reconstruction, and the body’s relationship to space. Her work often feels like a quiet reordering of the world, playful but deeply considered.
Jesse Darling creates work that feels raw and urgent, dealing with structures of power, vulnerability, and the way materials hold history. There’s something about the way she distorts familiar objects that makes you see them differently.
Olivia Bax works with form and texture in a way that feels both industrial and organic. Her sculptures are bold and full of movement, almost like they’re still in the process of becoming.
All three make work that lingers—challenging, shifting, and asking you to look a little closer.
I’ve recently been listening to a lot of Blake Mills. My favourite track is It’ll All Work Out from his 2010 album, Break Mirrors. Sorry that I’m late to the party, but it’s a great album.
When I really want to indulge myself I’ll listen to Landslide by Fleetwood Mac. It gives me all the feels, and if I want a good cry then this is the track that’ll do it. I fell in love with this song when I was a teenager and never looked back.
Back to the now, my favourite song at the moment is Old Friends by my partner, StevieRay Latham, from his recent EP, Hinterland. Paired with a music video of old home footage from the ‘90s, this song is up-beat and sad all in one, and reminds me of his family who I hold incredibly dear to my heart.
I’d love to spend the day with Frank Auerbach—just follow him around (not in a creepy way). He was my first love in art, and I read an interview where he said that every day, he wakes up, goes for a walk, draws from the same bench, then heads back to his studio and paints until the evening. There’s something so steady and disciplined about that, this lifelong commitment to looking and making. He’s now 91, and as far as I know, he’s still working. I’d love to sit in on his process, watch how he builds those thick, textured surfaces, how he makes decisions. His paintings hold so much energy, like they’ve been worked and reworked a thousand times. I wonder what still excites him about painting after all these years, if he still doubts things, if he ever feels finished. Just to be in that world for a day would be incredible.
I don’t feel like there’s anything people need to know about me—I exist somewhere between being an open book and completely closed, with no real urge to share, but nothing to hide either.