Marleigh Belsley is interested in the impact of technology on how we understand ourselves, each other, and our environment.
Her work explores what - on a microscopic level - happens through the process of sound and image capture, and how video can begin to reveal the complex, intertwined systems of the climate crisis and digital technology.
Working across digital and analogue forms of video, photography, and sound, Marleigh investigates each medium's distinct temporal and material presence. To make palpable the distance between the physical and its representation, Marleigh elongates lens-based processes to the point where the medium begins to reveal itself to the viewer.
For example, Marleigh hand processes 16mm film using developer she makes out of non-toxic, sustainable materials. She works in direct animation - hand painting 16mm film frame by frame. In the digital realm, she experiments with a wide range of recording devices—from iPod Touches and smartphones to GoPros and contemporary digital cameras. Sonically, Marleigh works in methods from manipulating analogue tape to live electronics.
Marleigh considers how video offers the opportunity to listen deeply and look again while critically reflecting on our everyday consumption of digital media.
Marleigh Belsley (b. Chicago, IL 2001) is based in London, pursuing an MA in Contemporary Art Practice from the Royal College of Art (2025). She earned her BA in Studio Art and Music at Harvard (Summa Cum Laude, 2024) and studied Music Technology at Berklee College of Music (2024). Marleigh has photographed for organizations such as the New York Times and the Harvard Film Archive. She has exhibited at Filet Space (2025), Fridman Gallery (2025), Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts (2024) and Maven Art House (2023).
instagram: marleigh.belsley
email: mobelsley@gmail.com