Reciprocal Space is an online collaborative residency and cultural exchange between Malaysian-based artist Lee Mok Yee and UK-based artist Laura Porter, who both work in sculpture and installation.

Across a span of eight-weeks, the two artists created art pieces in response to one another; pushing each other to experiment, share research and set tasks that challenge their practice.

Laura and Mok Yee found an affinity in one another’s work through their repurposing of materials and the deconstruction of everyday objects. Both artists are interested in how repetitive processes and multiplication parallel ideas of production and manufacturing, whilst exploring how structures exist within a space.

The collaboration between Laura and Mok Yee is a continued exchange of ideas since their first meeting at Middlesex University in 2013. In 2019, the two re-engaged with discussions about one another’s practices in 2019, and came together in March 2020 when Laura visited Malaysia on a research trip. Initially visiting art galleries and artist studios, the trip was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The online residency, however, enabled them to continue exchanging in a meaningful, practical way, and also opened up the platform to wider participation from other artists. This facilitated a broader and more insightful discussion surrounding various themes of development and decay, the relentless pursuit of productivity and impact.

Apart from supporting a continuous friendship and skills-sharing between artists in the UK and other parts of the world, the British Council sees merit in sustaining projects that promote discourse on issues such as humanity’s well-being and impact of human activity upon the environment.