Artists Talk: materials
NAME: Nadia Scola
oCCUPATION: Student, BA(Hons) Fine Art, Newcastle University
LOCATION: Newcastle upon Tyne
MEDIA: Film and performance
1. When initiating a piece or body of work how do you determine the materials you will use?
My studio practice currently is based on exploring the space used on the internet and placing it into reality. It is a way of looking at sexual identity. Focusing on online forums, chat rooms and dating websites, I am looking at how people approach one another through textual communication rather than verbal speech. I am exploring how vulnerability and fear of intimacy can be overcome by choosing the Internet as an outlet for promiscuity rather than immediate personal interaction. I have been collecting conversations from talking to others on online to form the basis of a series of work involving scripts; by placing them into a theatre setting I am exploring how an introverted way of communicating can be projected into an open setting.
2. dO THE MATERIALS THAT YOU USE HAVE A VALUE IN THEMSELVES OR ARE THEY JUST A MEANS TO AN END?
The materials I use in my work usually depend upon the particular subject matter I am working with and its concept. My main focus on work is fetish, erotica, sexual identity and gender. Most of my work is performance, and I also use film. However the materials I use in my work are chosen in relation to something I may have researched, read or something that seems to be the ‘right’ for the body of work at the time. At times the decision to bring materials into my performances is experimental and the materials may be later omitted.
3. please could you discuss any correlation between ideology and materials in your practice
Concept initiates my work and choice of materials. I reflect intensely upon research prior to making decisions about my materials and the ideology of the work directly impacts upon the materials. My work is very heavily researched based and the materials are in some senses secondary. They correlate to a degree, but the materials in my work are often merely a supportive product to my performances.
4. do you consider what you materials might look like in the future, or are you just thinking about how they look when you use them? for example, do you consider whether the materials might change?
I am very open to my materials changing; I do consider what they will look like throughout. And if it does not look how I expect it to it is not right for my work. I either alter it so it is exactly how I would like it or see how it can work in relation to the whole piece.
5. are your materials significant in how you identify yourself as an artist?
No, I know of many artists where this is the case, where they use a specific colour or material in their work. However, in the case of my work I feel I don’t have anything that identifies me as an artist. I think my work constantly changes depending on what my particular interest or inspiration is at that moment in time. I don’t have any sort of material that identifies me only the medium of performance and video and the particular themes of interest that I constantly refer back to.