Aurelia Guo

Aurelia is an interdisciplinary text-based artist and poet who has performed, exhibited and published her work within Australia and internationally since 2014.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Literature from the University of Sydney, having written her thesis on Frank O’Hara and experimental, first-person, 20th-century poetry.

With the support of a Cultural Trust grant, Aurelia was able to undertake a structured mentorship with artist and writer Hannah Black in Berlin. Hannah Black is a leading practitioner of interdisciplinary art and was an important early influence on the development of Aurelia’s artistic practice.

She also had the opportunity to undergo a guest editorship at Arcadia Missa, London, working on the forthcoming issue of How To Sleep Faster 7, an interdisciplinary journal the gallery has been publishing since 2011.

Aurelia acted as the editor of How to Sleep Faster 7, commissioning writing and artwork for the first time and working closely with co-editor Rozsa Farkas and designer Zhoe Granger. Her expectations were exceeded in terms of the creative control she was granted, from choosing the theme of the issue to writing the call-out and taking responsibility for the final form of many of the contributed pieces. Significantly, once Aurelia was able to confirm her guest editorship at Arcadia Missa thanks to support from the Ian Potter Cultural Trust, she was offered a permanent staff position at the gallery.

A structured mentorship with Hannah Black allowed Aurelia to immerse herself in her work, and receive invaluable feedback and support. Over a period of a month, Aurelia met with Hannah twice a week to read, edit and workshop her writing and other projects. She spent the rest of her time incorporating Hannah’s feedback and devoting herself intensively to her practice.

As editor at Arcadia Missa, Aurelia went on to edit novellas by artists and writers Sarah Harrison, Holly White, William Kherbek and Porpentine Charity Heartscape. In February 2017, she commenced a 12 week position as freelance guest Poetry Editor at the Fanzine (US). Her poetry chapbook was launched earlier this year in London, published through After Hours Ltd and distributed by the Song Cave.