What have you explored in your work and why?
Within the work I produced for my final piece (‘Carola Jane’, 2014), as my practice resolution that is, I explored several
themes that intertwined with each other and materialised conceptually and
physically at different levels. At the very beginning, the work emerged
unexpected from an encounter with a complete stranger. The documentation of
this meeting and the series of events which followed formed the basis from
which I started to structure and build an archive which was both real and
fictitious. Within this material there were different layers of content which
individually took a life of their own - a methodology which almost freely
formed extrapolated stories that touched upon varied topics such as religion,
politics or science.
Within this context the work started to develop
into a solid amalgamation of documents, photographs, video footage, objects,
facsimiles etc. which inevitable brought the subject of the archive as a
contemporary medium into the forefront of my work. It was then when I realised
how the work had the potential to explore the notion of information within the
gallery space as a contemporary experience. How does an archive become a
piece of art? How does information and research become a valuable contemporary
experience for the public? How objective or reliable can it be within a
contemporary context? And how, why and when should it exist there?
It was important for me to consider these themes
for different reasons. Firstly, it was relevant for me to pursue a project
which mainly parted from a personal experience. For a while I had longed to
produce work which could serve as an interior reflection as well as maybe
providing an external outlook into issues which we might all commonly share or
have experienced; in this case the series of occurrences that unfolded could
possibly speak of the experience of loss or mourning, the idea of events that
could have happened but never did, the contemplation of a different past/present/future
or a search of spiritual significance, amongst other things.
Secondly, I believe many of the issues touched
upon in regards to the experience of information today both in and out of the
art context to be relevant and appropriate to current issues and concerns
within my immediate surroundings. - How do we know information is reliable?
How do we distinguished between what is real and what is not? Where do
traditional and seemingly more “truthful” sources of
information such as archives, museums or books stand amongst forces such as
wikipedia or google?
We are part of a society which is constantly
encouraged to live or aspire to live a life of fiction - sometimes even cheered
to tell our life stories as some kind of movie. It was important for me to
somehow manage to confuse the viewer with the experience of information, but
not necessarily to trick them; the audiences pre-conceptions certainly
determined this and therefore the extent of the work’s success.
How did you develop the idea that
produced your final exhibition work?
In order to explore how information is
experienced within a contemporary context it was important to grant the work
with the status of an archive. Referencing Taryn Simon’s ‘A living man declared
dead and other chapters’ I
envisioned developing a series of framed panels which would contain the main
narrative of the story following a coherent structure. I also designed a
cabinet that would contain some of the objects and facsimiles hoping to enhance
the chronology and materialisation of the archive. The enlightenment came after
trying out a hundred other options though. The truth is that, as much as the
notion of the archive is essential when seeing and understanding the work in it’s current form, it was never the way I
thought the project would materialise. It was only when almost all the material
was gathered and the narrative was in development when it became obvious that
an archive would suit the content best. I think from that point on it became
really clear how everything was to progress and the practicalities that I
needed to follow in order to produce the final exhibited work.
Where there any issues
you encountered with the development and how did you overcome them or make use
of them?
Well, as I mentioned earlier, arriving at the
idea of using the archive as the format for the work wasn’t a straight path. I remember experimenting
with many different plans or outcomes. This was something that was always
picked up at my initial peer and one-to-one tutorials, the fact that I was
experimenting a lot but not really determining what the materialisation of this
narrative - however peculiar - was going to be. I suppose I overcame them by
really getting to know my work; the content, it’s potential, the ingrained concepts that it carried - even
unconscious ones - and specially my thoughts or projections over it. When I
really understood what the work was about - what I wanted it to say and do -
identifying it’s final outcome wasn’t that daunting; it almost came natural.
Who's work has been
a significant influence on you?
Too many just to mention briefly! But I suppose
two undeniable references that have influenced my practice and my final piece
in particular were artist Sophie Calle and novelist Paul Auster. Sophie’s practice was relevant in that it spoke to
me very directly of the use of her personal life as subject matter, placing
herself as both the author and character. Sometimes she established a very fine
line between being a photographer and a performer, placing herself as well as
the people she encounters in the realms of the fictional. This I thought was
particular poignant when thinking of ‘Carola
Jane’, and indeed her early
work ‘Suite Venitienne’ (1979) really
influenced many of the strategies that I was later to
employ/explore/re-construct myself.
As to Paul Auster, it seems silly now that I
never made the connection between him and Sophie Calle. I was pointed out by a
visiting artist that in fact Auster and Calle had collaborated on a work
together, ‘The Gotham Handbook’ in 1998, a few years
after Calle had asked Auster to use her as a character for one of his novels,
Leviathan (1992). Anyhow, I started reading Auster unaware of the connection
with Calle before I started university. The first title I read was ‘The New York Trilogy’ (1986) and I remember
what really strike me at the time was the confusion he dawn on me as to the
plot and narrative of the three different short stories. Then I read one of his
more recently published novels ‘invisible’ (2009) and again I
was confused, but this time in regards to wether the fiction was much of a
fiction or if there was any truth within the story. His style of writing, tone and
ability to form endless different plots, characters and events within one same
narrative has always fascinated me and indeed has influenced this particular
work.
Could you talk about the role of anthropology in relation to your practice?
I think that’s one of the reasons why I’ve always been so keen to learn about the life of others, strangers particularly; passers by, commuters on the train, anonymous online users on Chatroulette, an older woman living in her car… it provides me with an unlimited space for the imagination of an unfolded story. I don’t necessarily seek to study them, but people quite often end up as the subject of my practice, either directly or not.
Contrary to Anthropology, my practice and work as an artist doesn't pretend to seek or show factuality of any kind. I might part from real events or facts but objective concerns or accounts are almost never my field of interest; fiction and fantasy are normally what form my narratives. I am however, as mentioned in another question, concerned about the relationship between these two approaches and the lines that exist between them; history and memory, reality and fiction, truth or invention...
Maybe another aspect in which my practice links to this field is when considering my work methodologies and outcomes. I normally part from research and investigation immersing myself within the context of the subject. My work has repeatedly taken the form of books, archives, displays etc…materialisations which might be linked to an empirical study.
I must say that I have found the politics of Anthropology troubling sometimes; the lack of a specific narrative maybe. I feel time and time again individual experiences have been alienated into a common ground of research and opportunities for the expression or understanding of these have been replaced by a wider perception of a shared history. The desire to study and confine a group of people by their social, cultural or national identity (even if clearly defined or not) kind of troubles me in vision of the "politics of representation" that have emerged in the past.
Regardless of this there are examples on how Anthropology and Art can often meet in ways that are appropriate, relevant and nuanced like in the case of Susan Hiller or Joseph Beuys work and of course Taryn Simons. It is definitely a field that influences and defines my practice, a subject of study which I am keen to develop further and instigate at different levels.
What do you think is the most significant
thing that has helped you during your time a UCA Farnham?
UCA Farnham is a bit like a family. Not having
an overwhelming amount of students as well as living in such a quaint little
village such as Farnham has really proven to be an advantage when it comes to
forming relationships with my peers, lectures and tutors as well as staff at
the university. The amount of support, advice and encouragement that I have
received from this cohort of people has truly provided me with invaluable
memories, friendships and connections for the future.
What did you learn from the process of
producing your Farnham exhibition?
I learned that in the future I should plan as if
everything’s going to go wrong.
I think that would have really given me a bit more peace of mind and certainly
more sleep!
What are you planning next?
Well, several things actually! I am currently a
Summer Intern at a Salmon fishery in the furthest most remote northern point of
Norway. This is mainly a temporary ‘money
job’, but it is also a
time that I’m using to develop a
film piece which is yet to be titled and a series of one-off documented
performances (you can see some stills below). I’m not sure what will come out of it, but at the moment I’m just experimenting with the surroundings
and responding to the immediate environment - that is the intricate
relationship I have developed with the salmons (kidding, but not kidding!).
After that, it’s still a bit of a surprise!! The only thing I can say it’s that I’m moving to the USA at the end of August and I will be there for a
year working on something very exciting. I will very soon be able to update on the exact details of my adventure.
As to ‘Carola
Jane’, my plan and hope is
to materialise the archive into a book - almost like an exhibition catalogue -
which might push further the idea of reality and fiction within the archive
in the context of the contemporary
and the experience of information and research. I hope to do this within the
next year.
Interview about the development of Carola Jane from earlier in the year
I have explored the fear of ‘the other’ to exploit the bigotry present within heteronormative society on gender and created an informative yet humorous performance piece taking inspiration from the camp horror B movies and the queer drag scene. I formed a queer monster persona for my film which engages in a séance with the late horror actor Vincent Price, the voice of horror who was himself a homosexual. I used extracts of his voice, manipulated and reproduced it to create an informative narrative with my created personas that play out the exaggerated fears of bigotry. I have appropriated the soundtrack from the original films in all their camp glory and used them within the new framework of my narrative.
