Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Gillian Wearing…the so called wild-childs of British art have now crossed over to become middle aged moneymakers. So who’s next? Where’s the rebellion coming from? That’s possibly what London’s newest art fair – ‘The Other Art Fair’ – aims to answer. It is a chance for contemporary artists, who aren’t represented by galleries yet, to show off their wares. Today’s scorer is one of the young artists.
A big hello to Seana! She’s a London-based visual artist who invites you to her surreal, hand cut collaged world.
What’s the process behind your artworks?
It stars with a vision or idea in my mind. I’ll pull together lots of imagery that fits the theme. Collage allows me to experiment with different compositions and juxtapositions before making the final commitment of gluing something down. Overall its quite an organic intuitive process for me without too much planning.
Fairyville
Where do you get your imagery from? Do you have a vast collection sitting at home?
I have a shelf full of old books and magazines that I pick up from second hand bookshops and charity shops. It is forever increasing. I prefer more dated photographic imagery, for its grainy look and exaggerated colours.
Dream Scene
You are young and successful. Was it hard to get to where you are now?
I’m not sure if I see myself in that category, but it has taken a while to get to the stage that I’m at now and there’s a lot more room for development. I do have a fine art school background but for many years after I left I didn’t think I would go down the art path. I worked in lots of different areas before I naturally came back to it. I think you need to be prepared to do things for free in the beginning and make the most of opportunities that come up to get your work seen.
Garden of Eden
These days images are shared, copied and discarded in the click of a button. What effect does this have on art and the role of an enduring image?
In the modern age it is hard to produce something truly unique as a lot of things have already been done. In some ways I think of myself as an image recycler. I like to take old, often discarded imagery and turn it into something new and fresh. It is very much a response to the overload of imagery in contemporary life.
Being an artist is always a precarious career choice. What made you take the plunge?
It chose me. I don’t think I could be happy without it.
Bare Bones
Do you ever doubt yourself?
Yes sometimes but I try not to as it’s negative to think like that. I try to enjoy the process of creating without putting too much pressure on myself or worry about the final outcome.
Your work has psychedelic overtures. Would you rather have lived in the 60s? Any other decade?
Being alive in the 60s does have some appeal – the surge of creativity at the time, the freethinking attitude. The psychedelic influence in my work comes from my childhood living in Woodstock, New York, which still had left over references. People from that era were still floating around!
Are the lines between fine art and commercial art blurring?
There seems to be more artists out there who are happy to produce fine art as well as work for more commercial use. I don’t see anything wrong with that. People need to make a living.
Set design by Seana Gavin
What’s your favorite fairy tale?
Rapunzel. When I was little in America I used to watch a series called Faerie Tale Theatre. It was this series where big actors would each take a fairy tale and retell it for TV plays. Rapunzel always left a strong visual impact on me. That series had a really weird atmosphere. The vision of Rapunzel with her stupidly long hair running down the tower always stuck with me.
There you have it – a lovely lady with deft hands and awesome creativity. Go down to the ‘The Other Art Fair’ and say hello to Seana and see her work. This is your chance to witness the best work from emerging artists and probably lay your hands on some of their prints/posters/postcards before they hit million pound auctions! It’s on till Sunday at Marylebone Road.
Happy Friday!
