London-based artist and designer Liang-Jung Chen has turned their personal financial crisis into a groundbreaking art project that exposes the hidden reality of migrant artists' survival strategies. With their artist visa nearing expiration, Chen faced the daunting challenge of saving enough money for their UK indefinite leave to remain application, ultimately transforming this struggle into an innovative artwork presented at Whitechapel Gallery.

The project began when curator Sandra Lam invited Chen to participate in the East London art prize with a Whitechapel Gallery takeover earlier this year. Despite having several exciting ideas, Chen found themselves overwhelmed by anxiety over their visa status and the mounting costs associated with securing permanent residency. "The costs of visas, indefinite leave to remain, and eventual citizenship add up to a daunting sum," Chen explains, noting that years spent building their portfolio and pursuing interesting projects had left little opportunity for saving.

Faced with this reality, Chen made the difficult decision to temporarily halt their creative practice and pursue multiple side jobs to fund their application fee. Their employment roster expanded to include roles as a part-time barista, art auction assistant, artist studio assistant, event production assistant, and visiting tutor. This experience of juggling various jobs while maintaining their artistic identity sparked the concept for their Whitechapel presentation. "I'm going to present the work where the work itself is the work," Chen realized.

The resulting project, titled "UK indefinite leave to remain application fee (2025)," challenges the unspoken stigma surrounding artists' financial struggles through radical transparency. Chen created what they describe as "a sort of hacked admin document" - a colorful, live Google Sheets spreadsheet that constantly updates to track their earnings from various side gigs. The document doubles as both financial record and artistic medium, incorporating diary entries and personal reflections alongside facts and figures.

"A large part of what keeps artists and the wider creative economy going is, in reality, a host of adjacent jobs," Chen observes. "When you hang out with other creatives, conversations are always around visas, rent, side jobs, funding, and survival strategies." Despite the prevalence of moonlighting among artists, Chen notes that it remains taboo in the creative world, as if acknowledging these realities shatters the fantasy that artists should be able to survive on their creative work alone.

To document the project's evolution, Chen created a short animated film showing the spreadsheet as it transforms over time, capturing the living document's constant state of change. They also turned to social media platforms, particularly TikTok, to chronicle their experience in what they describe as both "surveillance and entertainment." This approach draws inspiration from artist Tehching Hsieh's legendary "Time Clock Piece" (1980), where Hsieh punched a time clock every hour for an entire year. "While he used punch cards and Polaroid photographs as his medium 45 years ago, I use TikTok and online spreadsheets to document mine today," Chen explains.

Chen's social media documentation reflects their fascination with contemporary forms of authentic expression. "As an artist based in London, constantly surrounded by world-class art exhibitions, I've become somewhat desensitized to what good art means," they admit. "Sometimes I find more authenticity and artistic value in YouTube or TikTok videos - especially vlogs where creators film themselves doing everyday things. It's like a form of self-imposed CCTV."

The project speaks directly to the experiences of migrant artists, particularly in the current UK political climate, by making visible the disconnect between artistic practice and daily survival. Chen describes the work as exploring "what happens when art collapses into labor," using their personal financial crisis as both subject matter and creative process. The spreadsheet becomes a playful yet poignant take on heavy topics that many migrant artists find deeply relatable.

Beyond its artistic impact, the project has provided Chen with unexpected personal insights. "Working across various public-facing roles with so many different types of people has been humbling," they reflect. "It's made me aware of how socially awkward and judgmental I'd become after staying too long in my creative bubble, and it's pushed me to reconsider what it really means - and what it's all for - to be an artist."

The experience has also freed Chen from the embarrassment traditionally associated with taking non-artist jobs for survival. By transforming this necessity into art, they've created space for honest conversation about the realities facing creative professionals, particularly those navigating immigration systems while trying to maintain their artistic practice.

Looking forward, Chen expresses interest in continuing to explore works where "creativity quietly melts into every act of everyday life." Their project demonstrates how personal crisis can become creative catalyst, turning bureaucratic necessity into artistic innovation while shedding light on systemic issues affecting migrant artists across the UK and beyond. The work stands as both individual expression and collective testimony, revealing the hidden labor that sustains the creative economy while challenging assumptions about artistic success and financial stability.