Tell Nicola Anthony Your Story

Today we are talking to Artist and Badger Fan: Nicola Anthony about her work, her influences and her forth coming exhibition on the 29^th of October at Rivington Place Gallery.  Yes, we are becoming very cultured.

So, tell us a bit about this most recent exhibition and how you became involved in it.

Whilst things are ‘popping-up’ all over the place recently, this is a pop-up event worth checking out (I’m trying very hard to resist the urge to say pop along…) It happens at Rivington Place Gallery on Saturday 29th Oct, but it’s been brewing for rather a while… The artists involved have been snooping around London, eavesdropping in crowds and asking both people we know and passersby to tell us their tales. We’ve been gathering people’s stories which we are using for the inspiration for the artwork we will be creating live on the 29th, resulting in an utterly unique textual, visual and aural story.

The event is part of The Fabelists, a collective of artists, performers and writers that seeks to expose the process behind finished pieces – hence we’re making the work live on site and asking people to engage with it if they fancy, challenge it if they don’t, or just come along for a chat and a cuppa!

We will be using the spaces around the building and the gallery cafe, Cafe Lati Ri

 

Does art always have to tell a story? What story will you be telling on October 29^th?

Not necessarily… it can also spread a rumour, have an outburst, withhold it’s secrets, say nothing at all or just make us remember something…

I actually love art which is more about fabricating a new story – like artwork which forces us to piece together the clues, making our own interpretation. I was at an amazing Rampton & Kemp event this week where the audience was asked to do dot-to dots on the walls.

We are all slightly voyeuristic though, aren’t we? In my experience people like to catch a glimpse into someone else’s ‘story’, and let’s face it, we all have a fascination with hearing other people’s secrets. So that is what my own piece on the 29^th stems from. I’ve been asking people over the last weeks to write down a one sentence story about them in that very moment, and I’ll be weaving all these stories and confessions together through drawing and collage, using their handwritten responses.  It will be the Londoner’s story as it’s not often told.

 

How did you start out as an artist? Who are your influences?

Well I don’t remember when I became an artist in my head – I used to make ‘sculptures’ and put on ‘exhibitions’ in the corner of the lounge at my parents house from a very young age! Luckily I think my artistic skills have developed somewhat since then, and that helped me to launch my artistic practice as a career when I finished my Fine Art BA a few years ago.

I have many influences.  I love the work of American contemporary sculptor Teresita Fernandez, and recently discovered two new artist-crushes, Tara Donovan who makes amazing tactile sculptures that just make me want to eat them, and Pouran Jinchi who is an artist from Dubai using Iranian script writing to create interlaced, intricate pieces.

I’m also greatly influenced by the people who contribute to my artworks with their own words and stories (and Badgers of course).

What is your proudest artistic achievement?

I think it has to be my recent infiltration of the American West Coast – I had an exhibition in LA this September, which has opened up a whole string of opportunities for me including my first Museum show at the Orange County Contemporary Centre for Art this Dec – Jan. (Yes, I’m going to the OC!)

 

If you had to tell a Newsnibbles story through art, which would it be and why?

It would have to be either Annie the dog’s true feelings about her ostentatious Royal Wedding outfit, or perhaps your recent scoop – Whose Poo is it Anyway? – I could use my USA connections to interrogate the residents in question…

 

Anything you’d like to add?

Just that you should pop along to our mind-popping pop-up this Saturday… and if you want to become the subject of my next artwork there’s still time to add your words here: http://www.nicolaanthony.co.uk/words.html

So, if you would like to tell your story through art, or just have a nose at other people’s, then pop along to Rivington Place Gallery tomorrow.  (http://www.rivingtonplace.org/)

Contributing artists are:

Nicola Anthony

Tinsel Edwards
Laura Evelyn
Francesca Goodwin
Hormazd Narielwalla
Joshua Raffell
Sarah Stewart
Twinkle Troughton

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