Melanie Wheeler is an interdisciplinary artist, educator and producer based in London. Her practice spans installation, sound, film, print, sculpture, costume and social practice. Through these mediums, she explores the uncertain territories surrounding class, locality, ecology, and social and material histories.

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Her work often develops through research, collaboration and experimentation, using creative practice to investigate how knowledge is produced, shared and experienced. Melanie is particularly interested in creative methods of exchange that encourage participation, learning and cross-disciplinary collaboration. She tests formats from workshops and performance to installation and participatory projects, to explore how artistic processes can reshape relationships between subjects, audiences and institutions.

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A recurring focus within her practice is the translation of scientific knowledge through artistic methods. During her MA she undertook a research residency working with UCL’s Geology Collection, In The School of Earth Sciences. This experience informed a body of work responding to the history and closure of UCL’s Geology Museum - The Rock Room. ‘I Spread My Limbs & Grope for Firm Ground’ is a constellation of text, video, objects, images and furniture, the installation and publication construct a speculative internal landscape that audiences are invited to enter. The work balances between real and imagined narratives by following a fictional quest to save the geology collection, while exploring material encounters with rocks, archives and geological mythologies. The installation probes institutional boundaries and reflects on how knowledge is constructed, preserved and exchanged. 

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Alongside her artistic practice, Melanie works as an educator and facilitator with schools, artists and community groups across the UK including: Supersonic Festival, End of the Road festival, CRATE Studios, Turner Contemporary, Heya Nottingham, The Nottingham Women's Center, Base 51, Nottingham Refugee Forum, Nottingham Festival of Science and Curiosity, Whitstable Biennial and Guest Projects. Her projects explore science, fiction, folklore and material histories through collective making, storytelling and experimentation with natural materials.

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Melanie recently completed an MA in Art Education, Culture and Practice at University College London. She is a member of the a-n Artist Council, PRIMARY Gallery and Near NOW, an Alumni of Open School East and Manchester School of Art and currently works as a Learning Project Manager in East London.