51 SPECIAL ISSUE Victor Cano eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral
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53 SPECIAL ISSUE evolution of your style? In particular, do you think that there is a central idea that connect all your works? Maybe would be fairly talking in general terms about my evolution in the art scene. I say that because my beginning as a plastic and video art creative, between others, is quite recent. Before that, on my twenties for example, I was working as an actor for several cinema and TV projects. Later on, I collaborated also in some cinema and TV productions as a production assistant after studying two years of TV and cinema production management in Barcelona. So, it’s difficult for me in this moment thinking on my style evolution but, what I can say for sure, is that I have a powerful feeling that I am in the right place now. If I had to look for a connecting point between my different artworks I would relate almost for sure to the digital matters. When I talk about digital, I’m not only making reference to the physical hardware and software that allow us to communicate things instantly, if not, to the fact that something is occurring in a metaphysical dimension, something that maybe we still don´t know. You are a versatile artist and your practice includes painting, photography, experimental film making, installations, electronics: what does address you to such multidisciplinary practice? And in particular, when do you recognize that a technique has exhausted its expressive potential to self? Since I was a kid, I’ve been a very curious and nonconformist person. I never have enough and I believe that this fact could be related to my large amounts of energy. I feel interest for many things so, I believe is all about feelings and interests. By the moment I never founded on my creative experiences an exhausted investigation of any kind but, it’s true, that in some of my artworks I felt that I expressed what I had to, then is over, by the moment. But I don’t like closing the door as maybe there is a possible evolution in the future. I Victor Cano eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral
SPECIAL ISSUE 54 think, as a professor told me once, that our creations keep developing it selves while we have forgotten them for a while, same with the material I’ve mentioned before. So, why not opening that door again to see if something has occurred? The works that we have selected for this special edition of Peripheral ARTeries and that our readers have already staterd to get to know in the introductory pages of this article have at once impressed us of your insightful inquiry into the sexual and social absurdity between inanimate objects and a body's structure is the way you have provided your reasearch with such automous consistency. While walking our readers through the genesis of cold cuts, would you tell us what dud address you to focus on this them and how did you developed your initial idea? If we think about and look back into Lacan’s mirror and into the Others look, we can realize that the relations through the digital network eliminate the physical contact with others. Once the physical contact has been eliminated, a possible isolated individual could emerge from this kind of relationship, as you said some questions ago. Apart from isolation, the individual has the opportunity to generate a fake image of itself and, going further, we could find also some individuals with multiple digital identities. I don’t want to generalize as there is a lot of kinds of people but maybe, this could be one of the main points where my research about identities started. I’d like to say that this investigation is based on my point of view of these matters and I like not to focus on thinking if that is a positive or negative thing, if not to show through my artworks something that could be happening. By another side and, trying to focus as possible as I can to recognize my deeper feelings, I really think that most of my creations by the moment, are also starting from this metaphysical dimension that I was talking about before. I’m really interested in the ulterior processes that are agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
55 SPECIAL ISSUE Victor Cano eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine
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57 SPECIAL ISSUE occurring in a dimension that we cannot perceive with our fifth senses. By the moment, of course, I’m in the research phase but, I believe that the digital matters are something through which human being is transcending to a new level and, somehow, I connect this evolution with the natural processes of our evolution as intellectual and thinking animals. As you have remarked in your artist's statement, you are very interested in how the internet and the digital world has become a transcendent revolution for communication, increasing relations with others and also the ways in which we are able to create. Paradoxically, it seems that in our ever-changing contemporary age everyone appears to be more isolated despite being more connected. How is in your opinion technology affecting the consumption of art? Well, in this his moment, through internet, we have instant access to loads of information and, of course, the access to all kind of arts. We are able for example to see a Rembrandts painting by google pictures. This matter for example speaks by itself about the relationship between a spectator and a painting. In this example, we find that the perception of a painting through a screen is completely different as contemplating it physically; the size, the texture, the colors and the perception of space. Another important fact is that thanks to the internet many people that in the past couldn’t have access to the art in general, now they have it. So, in general terms, I think this revolution could be affecting to the social consciousness and also giving the opportunity to people without resources but, with an internet connection, to create and share their art with others. Finally, it’s not less important to see about the accumulation of digital data, which is also the day of today another kind of material to be used and reconverted in new pieces and new ways to expression. Recycling. Victor Cano eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral
63 SPECIAL ISSUE 6) The digital revolution is also giving us the opportunity to transcend our way of creating: multidisciplinary artist Angela Bulloch once remarked "that works of art often continue to evolve after they have been realised, simply by the fact that they are conceived with an element of change, or an inherent potential for some kind of shift to occur". Technology can be used to create innovative works, but innovation means not only to create works that haven't been seen before, but especially to recontextualize what already exists. Do you think that the role of artists has changed these days with the new global communications and the new sensibility created by new media? Yes of course it has changed, at least I believe that. Thanks to the digital revolution, the today’s artist has the opportunity to broke the walls of the mediators. Independently if this is positive or negative for the industry of art, I think this is a great opportunity to the artists to show what they want, when they want. Also, is important to understand that accordingly to these fact, the artist has got the opportunity to become his/her own curator, producer, distributor and many other roles that in the past would have been distributed in many personalities. And of course, as I said before, the opportunity to the artists without many resources to promote their own work easily. I think that thanks to the new media many new ways of art are emerging and much more are about to come. We particularly appreciate the way your approach addresses the opportunity to experience the process and the way of the artist’s creation: rather than attempting to establish any univocal sense, you seem to urge the viewers to elaborate personal associations: would you tell us how much important is for you that the spectatorship rethink the concepts you convey in your pieces, elaborating personal meanings? Are you particularly interested if you try to achieve to trigger the viewers' perception as starting point to urge them to elaborate personal interpretations? That’s the point. What I’m looking for is to give the opportunity to the spectatorship to be for a moment in the artists eyes and, somehow, feel the process. And of course, they will be able to make their own meanings. I recall again, as I said before, about the point of views. Actually, is one of the main ideas in my project 4505. With this installation and the distribution of the elements in the available space, the spectatorship with the help of a movement sensor will activate the digital paints with his/her presence. The three paints are distributed in the way that the viewer will be only available to contemplate one of the digital paint at the time. I refer then to the relativeness of matters, where is also having a play the chance. Depending where the spectator look, will see one paint or another so, apart on contemplating the painting process, they will be choosing what they look and of course what they interpret. It looks complicated I know. That’s why you will get an invitation for my next exhibition and take a look by yourself. German visual artist Gerhard Richter once remarked that "it is always only a matter of seeing: the physical act is unavoidable": as a performance multidisciplinary artist how would you consider the relation between the abstract nature of the ideas you explore and the physical act of producing your artworks? This is an interesting question. When I was creating the paints of my project 4505 for the exhibition at StripArt I founded a very interesting point related to your question. I did those paints with the time-lapse/stop-motion technique. Helped with my camera on a tripod and a time controller switched to the camera, I programed in the time controller to do a picture each seven second, so, I had seven seconds to paint a little bit while the camera was waiting to shoot again and, repeating same action every time. We could say that it was quick fast. In that Victor Cano eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine
SPECIAL ISSUE 64 fraction of time is where I started feeling that there was no time for making decisions. I could have stop the camera of course, or giving me more time to do every picture, or planning the painting, which I didn’t. I didn’t do any of those things because I start feeling that the chance and the subconscious were having part of the painting process. After that, it founded also very interesting the physical act, matching with Gerard’s Richter mark, of being for more than an hour doing fast movements without being able to think which would be the next one, to finally, having the feeling as to have been dancing with my soul. Over the years you have participated to several exhibitions, including your recent participation to the group exhibition Strip Art with your project entitled 4505, that our readers can view at: https://vimeo.com/channels/1296776 and at: http://stripart.cat/artista/victor-cano. One of the hallmarks of your work is the capability to create direct involvement with the viewers, who are provided with of the the opportunity to become active participants and are urged to evolve from a condition of mere spectatorship. So before leaving this conversation we would like to pose a question about the nature of the relationship of your art with your audience. Do you consider the issue of audience reception as being a crucial component of your decisionmaking process, in terms of what type of language is used in a particular context? First of all, I would like to remark that in the vimeo channel you will be able to see the digital paint videos separately, without the installation involvement and questions around it, here explained. I would like to give a negative answer to your question about how the reception could be crucial for my decisions-making process, but the truth is that somehow, I think there is always a spectator inside every artist, as the Lacan’s Other’s look, or at least I believe that. In my case then, I think there is always a little influence on how the audience will receive your work, but I won’t define it as a crucial component. I think we need to use the language with the one we feel right or with the one we think we need to express what we want, because expectations of future interpretations will always transform what you are doing and maybe divert you from your final goal. Sometimes is needed to adapt your project, due to the resources or available space but, I think is important keeping focus on what you want to do and what you want to transmit. The target will come latter and I don’t think is something we can control or focus on. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Victor. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? Many thanks for you too Pheriperal ARTeries Team for this opportunity and for this great experience, from which I have learn many things. I hope the reader have had the chance to approach a bit to my deepest feeling and ideas. I feel my future full of opportunities from the ones I will not hesitate. My main idea is to keep investigating from one side about identities, trying to get deeper on how the digital revolution could transcend human being to a new way of consciousness. By other side, and being inspired too by digital matters, I would like to keep producing digital paints, improving formal techniques and ways to approach the spectatorship with new languages through mixed media installations. Best luck and many love for everyone, agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries An interview by Josh Ryder, curator and Melissa C. Hilborn, curator peripheral.arteries@europe.com
"There is no white picture. And there is no old picture. It is always a question of current experience and current perception." Often consisting of multiples works grouped around a specific theme, my work deals with the questions relating to the perception of art, the arrangement of the work in space, the elements of the work, whether concrete, sensory, intellectual and semantic, and the synchrony between the work, its context and the receiver. The installation [3:2] consists of more than 800 cells measuring 3 x 2 inches in reference to the photographic 3:2 aspect ratio now adopted for the LCD screens of our digital devices such as cameras, i-phones and the likes. A coat of thermochromic ink is applied to the cells, causing a nuance such that they may be perceived as an opaque black monochrome, a blur or revealing the underlying image depending on temperature and location, the proximity of bodies and heat exchange. It is an experiment whereby art is the moment of a mutual dependency fermented by an active participation of the senses. Francine LeClercq Lives and works in New York City, USA I Am Your Labyrinth, Installation
Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara Lives and works in Jyväskylä, Finland For me there is no such a thing called still-image. Whenever you see an image again, it’s different – and that’s nice. From this point of view it was very easy to jumpto the train of cinematography. During a very hollow slice of time you think nothing moves, but it’s only imagination.” If something is moved inside you – it’s art. You only don’t know what was it, that moved you, exactly. That’s magic.Jyväskylä
SPECIAL ISSUE 66 Through all my artistic endeavours, from the very beginning, there goes two major schemes: intuition and light-hearted playfulness. Having brave heart and these two there is a glowing chance of an adventure and a quest for personal discoveries. Development and a new day rising appear with unprecedented creations. I hope that playfulness will stay with my intentions. Intuition is the tool to work with collective subconscious. Intuition itself is nonlinear and simultaneous. Subconscious is probably all the time evolving mental storage of humanity. There is so much material to work with. Every person is conducted and effected with subconscious – whether they understand or not. Common people are not familiar with these nameless and subtle whispers of subconscious. It takes time – a lot of it. It takes a lifetime, actually. Common people just do not have time or opportunity to wonder these silent whispers. They are tied with daily chores, taking care of the family, working for money and thinking next holiday. For committed artist it is compulsory to have focus on dungeons of subconscious – without, it is just not possible to have any satisfactory results in art. Best pieces come straight from subconscious - fluently without intrusive visible efforts. These relaxed pieces carry an aura of independency and they do have an unique territory of their own. This complies with all depictions and techniques of art, in general. I think that even among artists not all are capable to deal with subconscious and deepest emotions. Ominously they then might be sentenced to copy and repeat shallow ideas all of their life. It is not very hard job to find examples. Ashtonishlingly these pieces really look like contemporary art. Inside, there is no distinct personal drive or innovation. It surely is difficult to be on the verge of tears when preparing a piece of artwork. Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara Lives and works in Jyväskylä, Finland Peripheral ARTeries meets agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries ” Empty mind rolling ” An essay of artistic practice of Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara
SPECIAL ISSUE 68 Without you are on the road of damnation and probable self deception. Only the deepest and purified emotions are shareable information. Certain ability to stand with unfinished material is first demandment. It might be easier if you are an introvert. In my youth I studied first architecture, then scenography and finally sculpture at the School of Fine Arts in Helsinki, Finland. What is the red string with all these is a 3- dimensionality. I think that I have a natural born high sensitivity for dimensions – so the path I have deals directly with this sensitivity. Proceeding further studying it, slowly growing familiarity of chances will appear. I love sensing the soul of different materials: paper, stone, glass, pencil, images and even athmosphere. The material vibrate comfortably with deepest core of my body. This was my first profound and enigmatic notification-path to real art. Different materials have different frequencies disseminating information to the body. It needs to be indicated here that this connection proceeds not through intellectual or rational. This precious sensation flows directly to spine only. Slowly it develops to a tremendous pressure of doing something. This is very natural for me. This complies with drawing and films also - although with them it is more subtle and hidden. In precence of that I know for sure I am on the right path of delivering the best I can do. What comes out – I just need to welcome it with acceptance, no sanctions. This kind flow of work is nurturing intuition greatly. In order to summon up the divergent aesthetics of my ”style”, I am lost . Please help me. Very vaque comprehensions cross my embarrassed mind. I get disoriented. Probably I am so ”inside” in my images and beyond words in my work. When working it agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
69 SPECIAL ISSUE Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral is compulsory to clear your mind to nothingness. In nothingness I feel ”safe”. Profound meaning of the concept of ”style” is that you think you are different than others. Thinking differencies means that you disconnect yourself from others– I don’t want to be disconnected. When you die then you are really disconnected. The inner core of life is the same with everybody – but if you want to underline that your clothes are different than the clothes of somebody else’s, it’s fine with me.
SPECIAL ISSUE 70 I really want to wash my persona out of the equasion. Japanese ink drawing masters and Haiku masters have it. Emptiness is the utmost goal and actual meaning of artwork. This complies to the way of filosophy and life of a person. Again and again indicating the void and to be that is life itself. Nothing less, nothing more. This is so beautiful that it breaks my heart. And here comes the groundbreaking massive difference of the concept of life and art between east and west. agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
71 SPECIAL ISSUE Mastering anonymously the technique of words and visual outcome is the base of eastern efforts. This is as far as possible from the western way of cherishing the bubble of ego. Which I think as toxic substance in society. Calm and unpersonal attitude is my goal. I hope I would be on that path, though I do need to confess at the moment I have reached only a glimpse. In filmmaking I dont start with defined scenario or a script. It helps a lot thinking this void and that I havent gone through formal education of a film school. Which I admire, of course. In order to be capable of making a feature, education in film is very, very helpful and a must. Training years and years gives you essential tools to stay alive with large productions. With shortfilms it is different. Having shortfilm done it has come clear to me that it is really possible to survive without heavy analogical or intellectual ground of processing big productions. I just mentally couldn’t deal with them – just couldn’t. But without a minimum intellectual lineage the film surely misses a vital essence. My background is in sculptures, which preferably were made around one, single purified idea without clear narration. My intentions to create something with scuptures always ended up with a pile of thrash. The idea didn’t stop evolving, ever! Eventually this idea of evolving subject took me thinking movies – this enabled to abandon most material restrictions behind. It is a relief. John Huston said that film of any format of arts, is closest to a process of thinking. Process of thinking proceeds through sequential line of illuminations. For me, the substance of these illuminations is constructed by happenstances and intuitive playfulness. This fits my observation of life. I have had a strong need to play with material and life. This doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t have a solemn attitude to life. Life is precious. Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral
SPECIAL ISSUE 72 Short form of a film offers a possibility and a plausable arena to inject some surreal, poetic and undefined sections in order to give more immersive experience. Here we come to a concept of ” poetic ”. As one of my idols Andrej Tarkovsky wrote: ” the only decent substance of film is poetic ”. And:” to make film is sculpting time”. In a poem words do sculpt time and emotions. In classic sculptures surrounding emptiness energizises the impact of work. Thinking this I have had some mysterious unforgettable experiences. The material of sculpture or drawing disappears. These scarce situations I will remember all my life. Poetic vision is the goal of my practise. Poetic opens uncountable directions for perception. For people, it hopefully gives the freedom to emanate where ever they have capabilities or interests. That I think is a fare deal. Emotions and different sequels in film carry this poetic substance and produce personal dialog with the wholeness of particular film. Poems and poetic surely are not for everyone. So little amount of people are anyway really interested about art. Sometimes I feel so depressed with this fact. But that’s the way things are. People are different. I don’t have the emanation of a young artist anymore. People just over their twenties do believe they are immortal. Growing older gives you mercy towards you, and others and your work. Dying is the utmost fact that can be thought of. I sincerely recommend a near-death experience for everybody. It is a tremendous and long lasting eye-opener. Going through this thought-provoking and profound experience you might understand that all experiences in your life are mirrored through concept of death, in a positive way. All art made has to have a relation with death. If not, it is not deep enough. In east The Death of the Author is a sublime goal. We cannot comprehend that. Western ego agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
73 SPECIAL ISSUE has no such redemption. Ego itself has a evergrowing need to harass all it touches. The birth of ego bursted first out during fourteenth century Italy. At that time, skilled artesans worked anonymously under commands of mighty church. With Renessance single artists popped out, having motive to be notified as individuals and thus signed their work. The birth of an individual ego had happened. This utterly devastating change has a clear lineage to our days where celebrated individual artists signature and cash their pieces of art. Uplifted ego and ”The bigger the better”- scheme came from America and is tied always to Big Money. Along came the Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine
SPECIAL ISSUE 74 stupidity of the idea of evergrowing society. In public sculptures there is straight analogy to this dinosaur thinking – now we are facing the end of the road situation. We cherish personal ego and we die with this deception in a grand scale. Most works of art are jammed with this disease of exploded ego. Heart or soul has no ego – only persons have. I have a theorem that if there is only one person having personal gratification and assimilation of current film or piece of art – it is enough. I cannot work with large scale – it gives me nothing but despair. Let someone else do agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
75 SPECIAL ISSUE that. Contemporary art is filled with intellectuality. I lean on furious intuitivity. World of poetic is wide open – you can use almost anything within the realm of poetic. Only rule is that visuality and written poetic texts have somewhat coherent energy and substance which plays with the beginning and the end of the shortfilm. Sometimes the coherency is disturbed unintentionally with a counterattack of words and visual content. Succesfully the poem lifts the content to universal level. In the process of my work I want to point out that the poem and visual content are born at the same time with the help of synesthesia. Empty mind is requiered and it is a reactive process. This multifaceted combination of intuitive sequels and poetic content, has a need of coming straight out from your personally felt emotions – from your own unique life. I underline here that kind of logical handling comes far behind. It is hard for logic to prevail over emotion. I really don’t mind intellectuality in art – it is so splitting. Not wanting analogical narrative and not wanting the script, the obvious path is experimental. Four years back this concept of experimental film was unknown for me! I had no idea that it even existed. The interest on films go back to my youth. For many years I visited eagerly the screenings of local filmarchive. At that time there were usually no more than about twenty people as audience and I welcomed all films with pristine mind. That period in the eighties was my filmschool. These screenings were really important. I understand that now. You would be surprised how narrow is the fysical ”circle” from where I collect the material. Very simple shot taken of a shadow in my kitchen – OK, one sequence collected. Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral
SPECIAL ISSUE 76 This is also very exiting and adventurous, because it boosts the need of using imagination to it’s very full. Using creativity this way has always mysteriously fascinated me. Ex nihilo nihil – allright! Using the tiniest components that surrounds you kicks you forwards – how strange and satisfactory. To find the Universe under the grain of sand. Manifestation is, that having usable perception you need almost nothing. Subconscious and creativity are everywhere. Nothing special – everyday life. And I am excited about that. If the rythm and the energy of stills is right, there has to be clear focus when sampling material in shortfilm. It is like music. Composing the poetic. When I found a specific software capable of morfing stills moving together into a sequence reminding 24 fps film was a far out phenomenon for me. I was stunned. This was such an unprecedented revelation – close to enlightment. Actually it is a process of animation using stills to produce illusion of real film sequence. This opened doors to imagination without borders. Without a doubt music is the supreme in art - sincere and innocent. Pure moods. I am deeply grateful having the occasion to cooperate with music in a form of short films. Music transcendents all of the film to the other unprecedent beautiful levels. Happily I have this experience. Working with zero budget I have a luck of having musician Samuli Kristian Saastamoinen to work with me. Having himself studied in Filmschool in Helsinki, Finland and being also a versatile and fluent musician he does have an unquestionable status to make the fitting score to all films we have made – applauses! agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
77 SPECIAL ISSUE Carefully I try to leave a certain mentally ”blank” space for music. If a film is filled with over poured visual elements, it is just too much. No music is reasonable any more. The rhythm and inner intentions of film define how much ”blank ” is to be left. Black and white content compared to colourful content is much more easier to work with. Black and white content has so much more ”inborn blank space” for music. We have a procedure that he makes music indepedently as the last stage of finishing Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine
SPECIAL ISSUE 78 film. So far this has been very satisfactory and productive. He is very sensitive to the content and rhythm of film. For him I leave the chance of doing whatever he wishes with the music. I mail the finished filmmaterial to him and after some short time he sends the music – and so far I have been ashtonished of the results – Many times I have been thinking if this really is the same film at all! That is the power of good music. agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
79 SPECIAL ISSUE Music and sounds of the world as themselves are crucial elements of life. It sounds (!) pretty dumb to clarify that a sound is far more seductive than a word. Music just comes and goes, always full in content. To misunderstand words happens easily unnoticed. Misunderstanding words and images has drastically increased with the help of internet. Social media increases the crisis of personality and image of self. Also certain sense of shame and stupid competition of acceptance has increased. When people communicate face to face, words produce only 10 per cent of the message of the other as a whole. All the rest is sensing information directly from the presence of the other. This should be remembered all the time. Here we can think the role of an artist to unify and reorganize this situation as a healer. In China vocabulary is compiled of images that represent ”words”. Actually there is a whole world that one image carries. I think that with this eastern people have much more visual and abstract thinking than in western world. This I have been wondering a lot. To my great despair I cannot play any instrument. But making film offers me a possibility to work with music and sounds. In making I can at least imagine possible varieties of music in sequencies of the film. What comes to music itself, I probably have a synesthetic relation to it. Hearing inspiring piece I immediately have various, almost accurate bodily sensations of space and structures. It is like a 3-D radar. This peculiar phenomenon has always been with me. Some music entangles me almost with hypnotical, wild experiences. Presumably most imperative aspect of any film or a work of art is to give free mental space for spectator - freedom to his or herself’s experiences and memories and most important - emotions to play with Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral
agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries SPECIAL ISSUE 80 artwork. This freedom given is inevitable for a spectator to be able to absorb and embrace experience. It’s all about respect and co-operation with people. Without this mental co-operation the piece of art remains disconnected. And thus worth nothing. Comprehension of ”poetic content” comes to a great help here. Poetic is about freedom by definition. ”The Mirror” by Tarkovsky is the best example of freedom in film. Using visual ”poetry” (symbols) together with written poetic content is very ”risky” business- they might start fighting against each other – and as a result the film comes way too complex and exploded for anybody to understand. From the beginning I have had an urge in my practise to prepare such a pieces which defy and challenge any strategies of intellectual. Intellectuality has a nasty habit of tearing down the content. With this I mean there has to be such an unprecedented and ”innocent” phenomenom which stays unraveled. There needs to be magic in it. You see it, you feel it but don’t know what it is, exactly. An experience beyond words. That is art. First image, burning shovel, in ” K.E.R.O.S.E.N.E Poems from the Planet ” came from emotional need to start the film with an idea that even I cannot dissolve. I have a need to use this kind of open-ended and joyful solutions. Burning shovel with music is real, strong and overwhelming, unbreakable idea. The meaning? Don’t ask me. The image just exists and I can love it. For me, life itself is filled with this kind of surreal notions. The secrecy of an idea filled with another idea pleases fully my emotional and intellectual needs. Eventually, using surreal layered images purifies my mind to work on. Surreal and
81 SPECIAL ISSUE imaginative are just another form of real. Another point of view. It is ”conditional” form of real – ”what if?” sequence. Here comes to mind thet there is an unbeatable and bullet proof instruction to make art: take something, then do something with it - and then something more. If succesfully done, a curiously layered reality will come out. What comes to the use of ”symbolic” content, one might think, that in our times perception of one particular symbol has evolved from seeing it not only ”acceptable” or ”unacceptable”, but to the Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine
SPECIAL ISSUE 82 state of including also concept of ”both”. Increase of information has lead us to this. A symbol exists in three simultanious stages. Psychological integrity is not disturbed with this. More opportunities has evolved in to understanding. There is no need anymore to judge this. Third point of view is to understand that your own personal psychological evaluation is there. You have your own life to be quided by your own understanding. Everything exists – give your love to it. For me -creative process is direct experience. It is immediate sensing. The agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
Jukka-Pekka Jalovaara eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral 83 SPECIAL ISSUE duality of emotional versus intellectual have been intertwined to one. How did I dare to say that?! This is how I feel at the moment. This entanglement together with seasoned intuition offers certainly new doors to open. Rational observation I throw as far as possible. Only thing I need is to rely on the content, nourish it and proceed. All of this needs to come out from your heart. You have to have experienced content by yourself. If not, it will be empty and artificial. World is full of sorry, secondary intellectual solutions. When confronting them you just feel bad. Using surreal and imaginary content is zero budget friendly. There is no need to travel to find authentic places or people in order to follow the script. Giving grants of the state to feature films is a necessity – the whole crew has to thave their salaries paid and families have basic needs. Let other skilled peole do that. I have no intention or capabilities to mingle with these productions. Again Ok with that. My beautiful piece of cake is in minimalistic and somewhat expressionistic. Have your microscope ready! My next shortfilm deals with abstract questions of primitivity of the olympic athletes in RIO. At the moment, it is crystall that this spesific subject is very complex and I have to work with the ultimate skills and experience I have gained so far. This project is most courageous ever and very, very close to a total disaster. At the same time it is an unavoidable quest in my practice of art. This puzzle, when solved will victoriously overturn my previous findings.
SPECIAL ISSUE 66 Adressing the viewers to a multilayered visual experience, artists Lucy and Layla Swinhoe's work provides their spectatorship with an intense, immersive experience. In theis Dura Mater, Pia Mater that we'll be discussing in the following pages, they successfully attempt to trigger the spectatorship's perceptual parameters: we are very pleased to introduce our readers to their stimulating and multifaceted artistic production. Hello Lucy and Layla and welcome to Peripheral ARTeries: we would start this interview with a couple of questions regarding your backgrounds. You have a solid formal training and you hold a BA (Hons) of Fine Art, that you received from the University of Derby: Lucy and Layla Swinhoe Live and work in Derby, United Kingdom Peripheral ARTeries meets We are collaborating identical twin sisters using ourselves as a symbol to represent opposite/parallel aspects, or counterparts. We realise ‘complimentary polarities’ not only through the work’s context (the display is usually an alignment of opposites in various compositions), and content (the twin aspect deals with duality and union through using our bodies as the canvas, to suggest positive and negative perspectives), but through media processes. Photography requires a negative to form a positive – this naturally embodies the concept of our work. However, photography today has changed from a manual process to an instantaneous digital process. Therefore the ‘whole’ is embodied - one thing relies on the existence of another, and they therefore interact. These are merely two faces of the same coin, as are twins’ individuals from the same source. Exposing and questioning notions of reality (either as a controlled environment or a naturally manifesting environment) and how reality shapes us (either individually and/or collectively), through all states of consciousness (and therefore the need to absorb and/or transcend all levels), is explored. A regular thread that has occurred within our collaborative works (as well as the twin or counterpart theme), is the use of the road/street sign where we play on the words in the sign post. Combining reality with fiction (and thus highlighting the ambiguity between art and life), an idea or theme is supported by a real location. Art makes use of many different technical bodies – it needs a vehicle when it meets the land. The visual (etc.) language or aesthetics act as a translation for arts content. The voice of the ‘medium’ communicates, as a body, for the idea /concept. The potential energy of both the medium and the mind as a whole is the function of art and life (they are complimentary), and, as vice versa, art and life are both manipulations (for better or for worse) of mind/matter. The transforming alchemical changes of state(s) reflect the intention(s) of the creative perpetrator. Everything is in flux, and so the work is ongoing… An interview by Katherine Williams, curator and Dario Rutigliano, curator peripheral.arteries@europe.com agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
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69 SPECIAL ISSUE Lucy and Layla Swinhoe eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral how does this experience influence the way you currently conceive and produce your works? And in particular, how does your cultural backgrounds and your being identical twin sisters address you as creatives? The experience of ‘formal training’ for us forks out into parallels.On the one hand we signed ourselves up as the product of a university, which particularly exists these days for the benefit of the economy. On the other hand we feel the experience of infiltrating that system has allowed us insight into that world. Contributing from the inside has it’s advantages. In the artworld, you are not only reflecting and projecting, but you are questioning and exposing truths (of whatever nature) about reality, while having the opportunity to communicate to a wider audience by using the platform it provides. If art is just a private hobby then obviously university isn’t necessary, but if one is serious about exposure and/or contributing to the wider social collective in anyway, then university provides facilities (essential for most processes), likeminded people (hopefully), advice and feedback (contacts, constructive criticism and open interpretations), time and space (to explore chosen field), experience (good and bad – learn from both), and knowledge (established but nevertheless challengable). When people asked us what we hoped to get out of university once we graduated, it was quite disheartening, even though it is a fair question. For us, it’s something that kept us going, and kicked us up the ass to translate our ideas into physical work, and that was good enough for now (but that’s coming from someone with a mental health condition they tackle day in day out and so people find that reply baffling if not uncommon). It seems that society makes people see life as a preparation for something that starts later. We are not trying to become artists, we are artists. But this system reduces one to desperately prove yourself worthy of even daring to say that you are something without the approval of the judging institutions in which you find yourself up against. We were ‘outsider artists’ forced into westernised university graduate roles, through lack of any real choice. The dilemma of course is using the creative process in order to put food on the table (etc.), and living comfortably. This culture of consumerism where even food itself becomes a commodity is of course the problem with modern civilisation. Modern civilization is thrust upon us, and we are thrust upon civilization. The question is what are we going to do with this gift (or curse?) of time that we have been given in this plane of existence upon Earth in this current state? Even art is a prisoner of the regimented system and chained to the shackles of capitalism. We still don’t know what it means to be a graduate, or where the ‘step’ will lead, and why it is considered an Honour to pay thousands of pounds to access the knowledge (?) and learning (?) of a particular cult in exchange for a scroll, cap and gown – the significance of which has been largely overlooked. The work we produced for our degree show (titled ‘Images and Illusions’ which can be viewed here - https://youtu.be/p0bq1ZeVbXY), directly addressed this with multi-layered connections. So has this experience influenced the way we conceive and produce work(s) – yes and no. And how? – the language one learns in a particular field or school of thought inevitably conjures up visuals like any other language. But we are particularly interested in the way this deepens our understanding of how society operates through separation. The lay person or non – alumini, will not necesserily understand the languages of certain schools of thought – thus widening the gaps of understanding further, and perpetuating society as hierarcy - which can’t be helpful holistically speaking. This is where we as identical twin sisters are addressed and channelled into our creative practice. We use ourselves as portrayals/representatives of this very dichotomy. The University of Derby allowed us to collaborate and work together for which we are grateful, as prior to that in earlier institutes of learning, bureaucracy proved unflexible to this concept – although one lectuer at college back in 2004 also fought this and won. Your works convey such coherent sense of unity, that rejects any conventional classification. Before starting to elaborate about your production, we would suggest to our readers to visit https://aa2a.biz/pg/profile/lucylaylarep14 in order to get a synoptic view of your work: in the meanwhile, would you like to tell to our readers something about your process and set up? How about your choice of lens? In particular, how much importance does play spontaneity in your process? Do you conceive you works instinctively or do you methodically elaborate your artworks? The need to find out something about this world and oneself, and what’s really going on is always the driving
SPECIAL ISSUE 70 force behind Art, and in this sense it’s a spiritual process, before it manifests as a physical process. Most of the labour is in the idea coagulating and synthesising before any production is evident – this can take weeks, a few months, or even years to achieve – but one can’t rush inspiration, it doesn’t work like that. In art college our lecturers where always worried we wouldn’t have any work done by the end of the project time period, but it all spewed out eventually. We are rather naïve when it comes to materials and techniques – we just pick up the instrument and see what happens (within our works we used a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX100V, and now we have received a new camera, a Sony cyber-shot DSC-HX80 for new works). The beauty of using digital photography and film as the medium is that it is quick. As artists who create multi-layered works, it can be quite a demanding and exhausting ‘exorcise’, so film and photography not only quickens things, but are essential in emphasising multi-dimensional reality in a simplistic way (depending of course on one’s use of effects if any etc.). The photo realistic approach of the medium balances the highly multi-conceptual nature of the content and in this sense, hopefully suggests to the onlooker that in life there’s more than meets the eye. We generally plan a location/scene that’s relevant to the theme, then when we get there it’s a matter of letting the nature of play and spontaneity express itself in terms of composition, performance etc. It’s then a matter of creating order out of chaos by guiding it all together through selective choices and nurture. However this can change from work to work. A lot of our works are only done in one take and one shot. Dura Mater, Pia Mater was done this way, as too was ‘No Man’s Lane’ and ‘Double Walker’. In the past we have done automatic drawings that are surrealistic visionary fevers. We revisited and revised them this year in 2017 and applied the ‘complimentary polarities’ theme - showing them in the positive and the negative. The formal elements used within art are a further reflection of the ‘twin/parallel dimensions/dualistic/balanced theme we represent within our work. How do you select your themes? In particular, do you think that there is a central idea that connects all of your work as an artist? The idea goes hand in hand with research, whether that research is factual or fictional. We don’t necessarily go looking for ideas from other artists/artworks in order to create our own work, but other times a piece of art (or song, person, film, book etc.), completely captivates agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries
71 SPECIAL ISSUE Lucy and Layla Swinhoe eries agazine Contemporary Art Peripheral Images and Illusions No. 58
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73 SPECIAL ISSUE and inevitably shapes ones creative practice in one way or another. On an individual level it’s the translation of a shamanic process. On the collective level it’s about the communication of that process, and also researching and learning from other sources. One great tool for researching and learning is the internet where you can get access to alternative art, history, medicine, technology (etc.). It’s important to understand that most knowledge given to you at school (or any institution for that matter), has some kind of agenda behind it. It’s our jobs as conscious human beings to find out what that agenda is and to what end it is leading? The overarching theme that reoccurs again and again, and connects our works to a central idea is using us as twins within a certain situation or environment. Our collaboration itself is a reflection of the symmetry of opposites, but also an emphasis on ‘complimentary polarities’ – the difference being that opposite suggests opposition and conflict, whereas we reveal that perceived polarities actually complement one another. Exposing and questioning notions of reality (either as a controlled environment or a naturally manifesting environment) and how reality shapes us (either individually and/or collectively), through all states of consciousness (and therefore the need to absorb and/or transcend all levels), is explored. A regular thread that has occurred within our collaborative works (as well as the twin or counterpart theme), is the use of the road/street sign where we play on the words in the sign post. Combining reality with fiction (and thus highlighting the ambiguity between art and life), an idea or theme is supported by a real location. For this special edition of Peripheral ARTeries we have selected Dura Mater, Pia Mater, an interesting that our readers can view at https://youtu.be/yPFJRWIybfo. What has at once captured our attention of your artistic inquiry into the relationship between the mother / feminine energy and the masculine energy is the way you provided the visual results of your analysis with autonomous aesthetics: when walking our readers through the genesis of Dura Mater, Pia Mater we would ask you if you think that your being a woman provides your artistic research with some special value. Lucy and Layla Swinhoe eries Contemporary Art Peripheral agazine
SPECIAL ISSUE 74 The work was produced in response to an object and an image given to us. The object was a Matryoshka, or Russian Doll, and the image was a Matisse cut out - Icarus (Jazz), 1947. Motherhood / origination / creation / layers within layers / worlds within worlds. As a species we can sometimes over analyse things (for better or for worst), which can become a torment or a joy - which is an inevitability of the creative process. It's not an easy ride (and maybe it shouldn't be?), however I suppose one should learn how to stop and breath and adsorb, before the loop starts again. Our spiritual creative female - the mother / feminine energy whom when combined with the masculine energy, transcends the understanding of life through the current vessel state, needs to awaken. With the aid of our senses both within and without, a life, a spark, an idea, a signal is born. On either side of the infinite web is an extremity of both tender sensitive perception and hard edged reality. While we get tangled in between this duality, we are both lost and found. Birth / rebirth is painful (albeit wonderful). agazine Special Edition Contemporary Art Peripheral eries Speculum - The Hypnagogic and the Hypnopompic State (No. 25 & 31) Diptych