What is your favourite film of all time?!
In all honesty, I don’t know. It keeps changing. I love old movies, especially musicals! Musicals are my favourite genre. I also really love fantasy/surrel movies centred around dreaming, like Alice in Wonderland. Most recently added to my list of favourites is Inception. But at the same time I like The Boondock Saints. There’s just something about its grittiness I enjoy. The same with Baz Luhrmann’s version of Romeo and Juliet.
What music are you currently listening to and why?
At the moment it’s a mash up of various genres. A band called Radiohead - They’re not really my taste, kind of electro, but I’m finding their music relaxing and inspiring. A bit of old school band stand music and rock, and hits of the 80s (because they’re funny). Specifically the Safety Dance by Men Without Hats. It just really cracks me up. And it’s catchy.
Which living artists do you most admire and why?
I have so many for various reasons. Photographers such as Joel-Peter Witkin, Eugenio Recuenco, Lara Jade, Rosie Hardy, Duane Michals and Arthur Tress to name but a few. Their style and creativity is just so inspiring. Their works all tell a story, whether in a series or in a single shot. I can get lost in their worlds. And of cause, one of my all time favourite artists is William Kentridge. The execution of his work, the stories and the way he tells them. I could watch his video work forever. He knows how to evoke feeling.
Which deceased artist do you most admire and why?
Salvador Dali. He was crazy, he was creative, and his work is just beautiful. I like how, despite his own personal meaning, his was the kind of work you could fit to your own interpretation. I love all the Surrealists really – Magritte, Leonora Carrington, Max Ernst... And then Andy Warhol for everything his work stood for, Hieronymus Bosch with his fantastical imagery, Leonardo for his genius, and Van Gogh for his heart.
Which exhibition that you have visited made the greatest impact on you and why?
It was one of William Kentridge’s exhibitions at the South African National Gallery when I was still in high school. I was doing printmaking at the time and was given an assignment to review his exhibition. It was the first time I’d ever experienced anything like that. It opened my eyes to what could be done and just how open art can be. Just because you’re trained in one medium, didn’t mean you had to be confined to it. His animations were simple yet powerful and it just really struck a nerve.
What is the question you get asked most frequently about your work and how do you answer it?
It’s a toss up of “What does it mean?” and “How did you do that?” My answer to the first varies but mostly I like to tell people it can mean anything they want it to mean. Sure it has a personal meaning but I like it to be open to interpretation. The second is usually answered with “great difficulty, some glue, and masking tape”. Most of the time it’s just masking tape.
What/ who inspired you to be an artist?
My mom. She’s a painter and illustrator. Art is all I’ve ever really known. There is no other option for me really. If art didn’t exist then neither would I.
Can you tell us about where you make your art and what if any, the significance of this location is?
As a photographer it can pretty much be anywhere, whatever and wherever tickles my fancy. But otherwise it all starts in a little black book I carry around with me and jot ideas down in whenever they randomly pop into my head. When it comes to sitting down and creating the work, any warm and sunny, quiet spot will do. Provided I have plenty of floor space. Or just plenty of space really that I can expand into. I’m like a fungus in that way.
What do you like most about being an artist?
The sense of freedom it gives me.
What are your plans for the coming year?
World domination… ? I do freelance photography and I’m hoping that within the year I can pull in enough clients to make it a full-time thing. I also want to get cracking on some art projects I want to complete by the end of next year so I can start aiming at a solo exhibition.