The Perimeter Studio Award 2026 Recipient

James Milner (b. 1999, Chelmsford, Essex) works predominantly across installation, drawing, scent and text.

Milner’s work explores queerness in childhood and the expectation of norms (such as heterosexuality, marriage, capitalist productivity) projected onto the child. They’re interested in⁠ how childhood experiences and perceptions inform the subsequent adult mindset, and how being perceived as abnormal fixes a sense of otherness to one’s identity. ⁠
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The work explores tensions between interior and exterior: sterile domestic spaces are constructed from exposed plywood and screws. In doing so, it questions how narratives around identity, space (such as the home) and ‘lifestyles’ (e.g. queerness or religion) are constructed, and how they can mask more fragile or unstable realities.⁠
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James Milner graduated from this year's MA Fine Art Media course at the Slade School of Fine Art. ⁠
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Milner is currently recieiving one year of a rent free studio space at Metroland Cultures, professional development opportunities, mentorship sessions and a bursary.⁠