Alice - Interviewed by hunter

[some info about the work up front please]

ALICE_INTERVIEW

H. Im going to start really basic. So where did you grow up?

A. I grew up in london and studied there. I went to school there, university there and then I sort of lived as an artist there for a couple of years but, I mean, in reality I was basically just working at a bar and making my work on the side. So I decided that I needed a lifestyle change so I moved to Rotterdam and now I'm just being an artist.

H. (Laughs) Cool. So how do you think that environment, london essentially, informed the subject matter and your approach to painting?

A. Well I think there is so much going on in London that I had less time to actually work, so , I think one of the reasons why I moved 'cause it was quite hard to move on from things and let things naturally develop. I was maybe, not really exploring enough, making mistakes and trying new things. London is a very weird city, it's very fast and you are always just trying to make things, which still does affect the way I work, I make a lot of things and think about them after. In that way it has really informed my process. But here I feel like there is definitely room for more experimentation.

H. So in that way the city has informed your process, what about content-wise, your work is quite architectural. Do you think the city itself had an influence itself on the composition and the interiors or architecture you depict?

A. Well I think I look for the same things in some ways, like where I go rather than the actual exterior working in on me. I look for the same type of space, and I'm still looking I think, because I am quite iterated in the idea of this generic energy all around us. So I am looking for the same things but in different spaces. I don't think that necessarily where I am is really translatable, I think things that actually affect you are pace of life and the weather. Those types of things, in someways influence you more the the space around you because in terms of imagery, so much that we see is on the computer screen or in the movies. We see what is around us as well but it is always going to be warped by what's going on in our heads. So maybe over time Rotterdam will effect me more but at the moment its just on the surface.

H. You mentioned the weather. There is a certain grayness that probably similar in London and Rotterdam and in some of your paintings, from the way you use the paint it sometimes gets a bit gray.

A. Yeah its washed out. In someways I think rotterdam and London are quite similar.

H. How do your start a painting, in terms of material and process?

A. I like to work with some restrictions, so I like to work with what I've got or what I can find. I usually paint on either found materials or things that I can acquire very easily. The last piece I made, which is in this show, is a series of four paintings done on bedsheets with paint that I bought just around the corner (brand I don't understand "libra") and I'm quite interested in having this economy of medium. (Goes on to talk about a conversation we had at a book launch haha)

H. Once you gather these materials and you start to do a painting, are you laying down a background or are you…

A. The first thing is that I find the material then I find the images I want to work with. I get interested in different ways, sometimes from photos I take or images from books that I scan here. Sometimes I have a direct knowledge of what I am going to paint but often I just two things and think, "this could be an interesting connection" or "can it work? maybe it can't" and that is why I try to compose them together: to see what can come out of them. I quite like when I'm not sure, when I don't pre-plan how its going to look, it has to come through the painting.

H. Why do you choose paint? We will get to the more sculptural stuff after, but once you've got the images it seems you choose paint and its very involved in using the hand.