Hello Jordan and welcome to NotRandomArt. The current issue is revolving around the problem of communication and identity. Is there any particular way you would describe your identity as an artist but also as a human being in dynamically changing, unstable times? In particular, does your cultural substratum/identity form your aesthetics?
Hi! Thanks for having me!
The public domain in which Art is presented opens up an ambiguity of meaning for the work, it no longer solely represents the intention of the creator. I feel like this is the same for myself, as a human being. I feel as though my identity is part of a tennis game between whomever I am interacting with, or whatever I am experiencing and, thus, is never a solid-state, rather it is in constant flux. I often-times have felt like I am a Selenite Tower, a crystal typically understood to be a ‘filter’ for energy, and as though I introject whatever it is that someone is projecting onto me (intentionally or not).
I have experienced mental health issues for a while and as a method of understanding myself and my mood, I reflect on my artworks as extensions of self, as modes of better understanding who/what/how I am. The output assists in understanding and interpreting the input I have experienced, sort of like how a dream assists in the organisation of thoughts/experiences. I find that my Maximalist and Art Brut aesthetic is due to my sense of self as being a collaboration of influences and experiences, but also, as a method of stream-of-consciousness creation the aesthetic often will be a secondary element to the intention of expressing myself.
Would you like to tell us something about your artistic as well as life background? What inspired you to be in this artistic point in your life when you are now?
Before I was 5, I grew up in a variety of different countries and I often didn’t know anyone and had to occupy my own time- this, I believe, had a huge impact on my imaginative and creative necessities. My artistic process definitely reflects on this solitary playfulness, a sort of reflection on the loneliness I felt as a world-wide traveller at such a young age. I had a lot of toys that replaced friendships, and so I think through that process I developed relationships with objects as projections of myself which I now utilize in an Artistic way.
When I first started to take my Art genuinely, I was using photography as a medium. I would take long walks and photograph dirty, forgotten objects. I have now found that it may be a mode of reconciling my self-esteem by appreciating that which has been rejected, as a sort of ritualistic method. My parents really liked the photographs I was producing and suggested I go to Art School, so I applied for and was accepted into my undergraduate degree which totally shook me up and changed my view on what mediums I could use to express my intention. Ever since, it has become a compulsive necessity to create, without which I do not feel like I am myself.
Could you identify a specific artwork that has influenced your artistic practice or has impacted the way you think about your identity as a participant of the visual culture?
Pin-pointing one artwork is really difficult, because, as I mentioned earlier, I think that my personality/artwork is the result of so many influencing components. I will need to reference two artworks, from the beginning of my interest in art to my current interest;
Francis Bacon’s triptych ‘Three Studies For Figures At The Base Of A Crucifixion’ and Thomas Hirschhorn’s ‘Deleuze Monument’. Bacon’s triptych, the centre-piece, has been tattooed on my torso as a consistent reminder of the works that initially influenced my practice. These paintings really affected me in the ways he is able to express his internal trauma and emotional anguish with the use of other-worldly creatures, whilst simultaneously referencing interior design and architecture with perspectival representation in the form of line and angle. His paintings look like they are layered and scratched away, you can truly see the process of creation as well as the internal dialogue that must have played during that painting process. Franics Bacon’s studio also changed my perspective on space and the ways in which we use them; I had learnt of his work whilst I lived at home with my parents and had been told consistently that I needed to tidy my room, however one look at the functioning chaos of Bacon’s studio provided me with some fuel to contradict the claim that my space needed to be tidy.
Thomas Hirschhorn inspires me consistently, most prominently with his use of “everyday materials”. I have often found the ‘art world’ to be an exclusive realm of gouache or stretched canvas, but to learn of a renowned artist who denies the necessity of formal materials was very liberating. ‘Deleuze Monument’ was one in a series of public-artworks in which the artist created shrines and temporary buildings for philosophers that had deeply inspired him. It is the aspect of ‘relational art’ that I find the most intriguing, alongside the anti-aesthetic approach that they inhabit. The buildings are places of shared learning, incorporating libraries, workshops, and videos about the philosopher. The aesthetic is secondary to the intention, you can see the nails and the timber that create the structures- instead it is the involvement of the public and the intention to learn and reflect upon the philosopher that the monument is appreciating.
These are two of a very long and ever-evolving list of personal influences. I would like to provide a disclaimer that I find it somewhat unfortunate that they are both male artists, and would like to provide a small explanation as to why:
It took me quite a while to learn about the works and achievements of the many female artists that occupy my list of influences and it is a large intention of mine to continue seeking out female-identifying artists to research.