♦︎ 04 «Is reality a degree, a spectrum?»
Can you say more about working in different mediums? What do you think about the idea that in the creative industries, we’re not making the same distinctions between disciplines or even talking about authorship in the same way we used to?
On one hand, it’s a matter of (economic) survival; on the other, it’s a will to pursue the ideal of the Renaissance Man, the homo universalis who seeks to develop multiple skills and whose knowledge spans across subjects, in resistance to the contemporary tendency to identify ourselves primarily with our professions. «Jack of all trades, master of none», they say, but apparently the full saying goes, «but oftentimes better than a master of one».
How do projects such as this one – which are of a personal, artistic nature – interact with or inform your editorial or commercial work?
This is an attempt to free myself from commercial work at some point, hopefully.
Are you interested in psychoanalysis, dream interpretation, or other traditions of accessing or interpreting the psyche? Which ones and how do they inform or engage with your work?
I am interested in psychoanalysis, dream interpretation, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, physics, astrology, divination, literature, music, art; all these means we have come up with to better figure out ourselves, other people, and the world. What I do, who I am, how I move are all shaped by my interests.
You’ve said that you don’t view this work as being “surreal” but rather as seeking something very real. There’s a misconception about surrealism that its project was to somehow betray or escape reality, when in fact it was very much interested in reality – just the unseen, deeper reality of the psyche.
I need to read the Surrealist Manifesto again. Anyway, right in this moment, I am drawn to say that I don’t think there is a distinction or an opposition between real and surreal. Everything is real; the surreal is real too. Is this work seeking something very real? Is some thing more real than some other real thing? Is reality a degree, a spectrum? To be honest, I am not sure what I am trying to do, but “exploring —rather than seeking— something real” might be a way to put it.
So what did you learn making this work that you didn’t know before?
That perhaps I can and should do things without having them all figured out beforehand. That doing first, then refining and giving it shape later, is a viable option too.
How does fear play out in your work or process? Were you frightened making this work?
I am shit-scared but hiding won’t do me any good either.
Reworked from Petra Collins’ interview in 032c, 2019. Questions adapted; responses my own.