"To exist is to change, to change is to mature, to mature is to go on creating oneself endlessly." This quotation by Henri Bergson expresses exactly the way I feel about my artistic development. The determent desire to constantly improve and develop my own style is the process that fulfills me with great excitement. My ambition is to create work that is appreciated, provokes positive emotions and delight. Once a project is finished successfully I feel great satisfaction and pride.
I am fascinated by a wide range of areas, which inevitably all enhance my work. Inspiration may come from a visit to one of London’s colourful vibrant markets, a relaxing walk in the local park or a visit to the charming country side. These are places where ideas of shapes and colours come from. Those places are very personal, which is why my work becomes very individual, too.
As mentioned above I have always had the desire to use different tools and techniques to express creativity. As soon as I feel constrained with one technique or method, I move to the next. When I became aware of the never-ending possibilities computers provide, I tried to integrate them with traditional techniques. I am using Photoshop, Flash, Arduino, but also some less known applications such as ContextFree and MorphX.
My studies introduced a lot of artists and gave an overview of relevant software. Employing the computer to achieve exactly what I want gets my adrenalin going. It feels like playing a computer game or taking part in a competition. For me work goes well when I have not only achieved what I was aiming at, but also learned a lot on the way, that I can use in future projects. Hence, I become increasingly more independent. As an extremely critical perfectionist, I can be fussy about every little detail of my work. This perfectionism undeniably improves my results.
From time to time, I get frustrated if I cannot exactly determine whether I have acquired enough knowledge during a certain period. It seems like I have reached a plateau from which it is difficult to raise from. However, looking back to where I was one or two years ago usually makes me feel better.
Since there is still a lot to discover, it is difficult to categorize my work. Whether it is physical computing, digital interface design or algorithmic practices, I am not afraid to employ parts of any of them. Regardless of the medium I am working with, I generally like my work to be pretty, sleek, but still including an element of playfulness. A successful piece will make people move emotionally.
My showcase includes pieces of web design, animations, advertising campaigns and photography. Currently, I am looking at ways of implementing Flash into graphics generated by algorithms. Wherever I can, I incorporate photography as the primary medium. I recently discovered photography whilst enrolled in a course at the London Academy of Media and Film. Photography is not only valuable for enriching my projects, it is also very inspiring regarding colours and shapes, for instance. I am new to photography, which might be a reason why I am so thrilled about it. Even though it takes a lot of practice and time to become professional, I am going to start publishing my photographs with a stock photography agency mainly to receive feedback.
I am currently creating a digital self-portrait. I am interested in portraiture for various reasons. First of all, its aim is to capture the subject’s feeling, emotion, expression, and even personality and mood. To represent these traits accurately is usually rather challenging. Moreover, creating a self-portrait enables me to include various techniques. I take photographs of me and morph them. The finished movie sequence is imported into Flash, where I add contributing layers.
The layer embrace sketches and graphics that appear randomly to change the portrait’s overall look and expression. Just like in painting choosing the right colours is the most difficult and most exciting process to overcome. I could spend hours trying to find the exact colour or colour combination. It definitely pays off. The second layer accommodates essentially scripts. Random algorithmic graphics help to emphazise the unsystematic portrait.
I would not consider myself a geek as far as programming is concerned. Instead, I make use of some simple animating and feel confident in scripting attempts.
Even though there are a few approaches that are new, the part I feel most curious about is exhibiting the final piece, because it will not only be a way of expressing emotions, but will also reveal my face. That is a total new experience.
I would like to conclude by saying that the process of maturing is a neverending process and therefore creativity is unlimited.
