Leila Helena Grillo—a chimerical invention brought into this corporeal world at the turn of the 21st century—is a multimedia artist voyaging through and between the reality of her home, spanning several countries, to her reveries and unreality elsewhere. Her reservoir of work is spent on the emphatic musing and dwelling on her experience outside and inside herself.
Leila is a woolgatherer and memory machine, basing much of her photographs, writings, films, and sounds on the visuals of dreams, delusions, and passages of a time long gone. Aside the solitude, she collaborates with artists of all genres including, but not limited to, musical, cinematic, and photographic endeavours. She performs music and sings under the pseudonym "Birdie Button".
Leila continues realizing a full body of multimedia works in Los Angeles and London.
Exhibitions
- NOVA. Safehouse 2, Peckham, London. "Blue Egg" film and accompanying installation. June–July 2024.
- Posthuman Worlds. Foyer Gallery, University for the Creative Arts. "Citta Vuota" film screening. Farnham, UK. January-March 2023.
- The Voices Film Programme: Women Behind the Camera. "Woolgathering" screened in London, UK. Bermondsey Project Space. Sponsored by BFI & Film London. 11th December 2022.
- ONART Gallery Firenze, ELUSIVE. "Birds After Rain" Video installation. Florence, Italy. April 2019
- Artdoc Magazine. "Analogue Renaissance" Online exhibition. September 2020. https://www.artdoc.photo/online-exhibition/analogue-renaissance
- Barnsdall Art Center. Permanent Collection. 2018–present. Los Angeles, CA
- Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Parsons The New School, New York, New York. June 2017
- Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. Department of Education Building. Washington D.C., August 2017
- Expressing Feelings Through Art Contest (painting). Art Center College of Design. Los Angeles, CA, 2016
Publications
- Scholastic Art and Writing Awards 2017 Catalogue
- Best Teen Writing of 2017 for Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
- L’Oeil De La Photographie (Eye Of Photography): Portfolio Of The Weekend. Paris, France. September 2019. https://loeildelaphotographie.com/en/leila-grillo-en/
- FotoBook Monthly: Issue #07. Tas-Sliema, Malta. July 2020. https://fotobookmonthly.com/07/
- Nea Magazine: Milan, Italy. UNDERGROUND NOSTOS. Ottobre 15, 2020. https://www.neamagazine.it/fotografia/underground-nostos/
- Unvæled. Collection XI. December 1, 2020. https://www.unvaeled.com/campaigns/view-campaign/MzqKvbvC1CrIW3WYwHqBzaaEjboR9qU_Sh7uqvm9x7S2qvHDHNAFQR26VXtaPaSCs1jawxdlylyisQcvZLSrSqECtkDqRMUD
Awards
- Two national gold medals for photography in the 2017 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards
- Honorable Mention in Expressing Feelings Through Art Contest (painting) 2016
- "Woolgathering". Experimental Video Shortlisted for Cinemagic Film Festival. Screened in Belfast, Ireland. October 2022.
Education
- Studio Arts College International – Florence, Italy 2019
- University for the Creative Arts (UCA). Film & Digital Art BA (Hons). Farnham, UK. 2021—2024