Studio Voltaire’s members’ exhibitions aim to showcase the strength and diversity of its membership, which currently comprises over 400 artists. Now in its eighth edition, the exhibition has developed a reputation for spotting emerging talent and bringing it to a wider audience. Previous artists have included: Laura Aldridge, Sara Barker, Juliette Blightman, Pablo Bronstein, Keith Farquhar, Anthea Hamilton, William Hunt, Doreen McPherson, Public Works, Stephen Sutcliffe and Markus Vater.

In 2012, the exhibition included the work of twenty seven artists based throughout the United Kingdom and included a range of approaches to art making, such as sound, video, photography, painting, drawing, installation and sculpture. The selectors were drawn to work that had a strong and unique voice.

Works included: Jimmy Merris’ Doing the downturn or finding your feet in the times of the worried man, a ‘YouTube’ style video of two young men doing “a macabre dance heavily influenced by West-African polyrhythms, shamanistic ritual and the occult in general, and dying and living”, performed in Long Johns and Shoefayre pumps purchased from Rye Lane, Peckham and performed in their kitchen; Damien Meade’s somewhat grotesque oil paintings of figurative forms rendered out of clay and other materials; William Cobbing’s Bamiyan Mirror series, a set of photographs taken during a residency in Afghanistan which reference Land Art, particularly Robert Smithson’s Mirror Displacement series; and Martina Schmuecker’s Feedback Room, a sound installation exploring the relationship between memory and language.

For the first year, one artist was awarded the Members’ Show Award by the selectors and Joe Scotland (Director, Studio Voltaire). The artist was given the opportunity to make a solo presentation in Gallery 2 as a part of Studio Voltaire’s future gallery programme and given £1,000 towards the production of new work. The recipient of the Member Show Award 2012 was Jimmy Merris.

Pat O’Connor was awarded the Aldeburgh Beach SOUTH LOOKOUT Residency Prize. Sponsored by Caroline Wiseman, the prize offered an opportunity to work in the historic tower. Previous artists at the South Lookout include Peter Blake, Ryan Gander and Chris Wainwright.

The selectors of SV:12 included Jenni Lomax, the Director of Camden Arts Centre and artist Mike Nelson.

SV 12 artists:

• Holly Antrum
• Emi Avora
• William Cobbing
• Katie Cuddon
• Inez de Coo
• Anita Delaney
• Melanie Ezra
• Ana Genoves
• Rose Gibbs
• Celia Hempton
• Kevin Jacobs
• Nnena Kalu
• Mawuena Kattah
• Colin Lindsay
• Damien Meade
• Jimmy Merris
• Ben Newton
• Pat O’Connor
• Kate Owens
• Veronika Rettich
• Helen Robertson
• Neil Rumming
• Martina Schmuecker
• Andrew Seto
• Michael Stumpf
• Avis Underwood
• Clifton Wright