Self Immolation. Choke on Your Tongue. Splitting of the Phallus, Making of the God. Phoebe Collings-James’s work explores violence, sexuality and desire, and she doesn’t believe in the softly-softly approach. The East London-born, multidisciplinary artist is as well-versed in sculpture, performance and illustration, as she is proficient in multi-media installation, photography and video, including clips from YouTube and the internet.

‘I am eager for people to get some kind of thrill when they encounter the work,’ she reasons. ‘I want them to either want to touch it, or run away, or better still be bored stiff. It’s a bit of a dare or a tease.’

Since graduating from Goldsmiths in 2009, Collings-James has teased and provoked audiences from Berlin to Mexico, Beirut to Milan – though she feels that London is still the most creatively free city she has lived in. Despite the magnetism of her hometown, the 25-year-old artist preaches to an international audience. ‘I want to keep travelling. I especially want the work to continue to be seen in different countries as I think it changes the context in which it is read and understood.’

Last year, Collings-James took up residency with Still House Group, a collective of 8 young male artists who occupy a space in Brooklyn. Although they worked together and engaged in artistic conversations during her time there, she left having seen little to challenge her belief in the industry’s archaic approach to female artists. ‘It made me realise that feminist activism within the art world is relevant now more than ever. Men can be astonishingly mediocre and still get shows, yet women have to be super-human to even get a look in. There are many examples of change, but too many more examples of totally prehistoric values.’

Deservedly, Collings-James has had her look in. Not only has she exhibited across the world but she has also collaborated with fashion brands, including Dior, working in art direction and set design.

‘Fashion has different concerns and that’s why it’s fun,’ she explains. ‘It’s a huge challenge for me to have such a fixed structure to work within, too, to have an actual brief.’ Phoebe Collings-James challenges herself as much as she does her audience. And that’s what makes her so interesting.