#1iing

My interview with 1iing was very interesting experience. Also she has very interested artworks and she is also a senior at college about Fine Art Media. Privacy, surveillance and temporal experiences are very powerful issues today. I'm happy to we can talk about these subjects which seem as a problem for us.

Could you please tell us a little about yourself?

Of course! My name is 1iing and I’m currently in my final year of study in the National College of Art and Design in Dublin, Ireland. I’m practicing Fine Art Media. This is my first ever interview so I hope this in informative! :3

What is new media art and how would you describe a new media artist in your point of view?

Honestly I have no idea how to answer that question. I guess it would be someone who observes and reflects on how contemporary society exists on two strata’s; online and offline. 

Which types of art you are interested in?

Right off the bat, I’m mostly drawn to kinetic pieces; both sculpture and screen based. Though that’s usually more for the technical and visual aspect. Conceptually speaking, when researching new artists, it’s generally the ones who work in a totally different medium to myself that end up better informing my work, like sculpture or printmakers. Getting out of your comfort zone is definitely a better way to inspire.

Can you describe your process of “making a piece of art”? What do you think about collaboration in creation process? Do you like working together with other artists?

My approach is a step-by-step process, not far from being pedantically analytical as per a science or technology background. I used to be too self aware of this and afraid I’d come across too contrived, but it’s how I work best and there’s no point in feeling bad about that!

I generally will do a lot of technical research, such as how something might act/react/move, that kind of thing. Then the theoretical and contextual research around a subject would be done together. The ideas for a final piece usually will start when I begin reading the theory and my prior knowledge to how the technology works to make that happen will influence the decision.

Collaboration is a great way to form new ideas and gain new perspectives. I know myself that even though I work well on my own, I do enjoy a group momentum and discussions about subjects that I myself may not work in. Other people will always be able to give a fresh insight to your own work. I was part of an Art & Science collaboration last year and it was very encouraging to see how different creative minds approached problems and different concepts relating to the two different fields.

Did you get influenced by other artists? If you did, how?

Oh yeah! All the time. I spend a lot of time researching, like I mentioned above, about separating visual and conceptual. There are only a handful of artists that I would be inspired by for both. To be honest, researching sculptural artists informs the final product of my work better than new media artists. I think this is the case because it can be hard to translate from a screen into a physical space, and that’s something I’m looking at doing in the future.

Is it possible to talk about the new aesthetics for the internet based art work comparing to the traditional art aesthetics?

Critical thinking on art builds on its self so it’s it has to start somewhere. Like most things we deal with on a screen, it’s derived from what we interact with every day so we can understand how to understand it efficiently. It’s good to compare to traditional aesthetics because that’s how you can see it evolving.

Different platforms for communication and social networking were created in the last decade. How that change the art world and your relation with art? 

Well it’s easier to discover new artists and ideas and you have the ability to share your work with more people. As more people are able to do this you become better informed about the context your own work exists in.

Within the last year I’ve been very conscious about predominantly screen-based work. As screens are something we interact with everyday, I’m aware that they may soon become irreversibly mundane to viewers. With the popularity of Instagram and Tumblr, anyone with the access can become their own creator of content. There’s nothing wrong with that, it’s great that these mediums allow people to compose, share and curate their own space on the Internet. It’s become so ubiquitous that as an artist, you’re challenged to think about new ways of engaging with those online spaces; and that’s always great for producing new works. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in these online places that when making work, I don’t want it to exist on a screen, but because I use them so much I find it hard to distance myself from that medium. It’s a love/hate relationship I have with it I guess and I’m trying to figure out more ‘exciting’ ways of composing my work.

I know you have participated some art exhibitions and also you published some of your work on Internet. Is there any difference for you sharing your art online or showing them in exhibition? Also what do you think about viewer participation in art? Does sharing your art online make a difference about it? What are the advantages and disadvantages publishing online?

Absolutely! My work, for the most part, is interactive and physical. I do this to allow people a way of understanding their impact on things, no matter how subtle it is. For example, in my last exhibition, I made a piece that reacted to the amount of shadows cast and fluctuations of temperature in the room. I enjoy when people engage with the piece to try and understand what their effect on it is.

Photos or videos don’t capture the subtly of viewers interacting with them. The presence of a piece can be lost and become thumbnails for catagorising work. While that can be irritating, it allows new viewers to understand your work in its entirety. As many artists now share their work online, whether you’re a media artist, printer, sculpture or painter that it’s a different way of experiencing your work. No matter what the medium, if your work is to be shared in a physical, public space; that will always be the most natural way of studying it.

Why temporal experiences important for you in art?

I take inspiration from processes like natural cycles and our interactions with them. ‘Live’ information is important to me, as well as ‘blips’ or ‘mistakes’ that happen in both natural and fabricated systems. I want to stretch moments out in order to allow a reflection on them. This is a response to the speed that information is shared at. Right now I’m working on pieces that run in ‘real time’. As a starting point I’m making things do a full rotation over 24 hours, mimicking the earth spinning. It’s a baby step but I want to see where this can go. I hope to bring some interactive qualities into this also.

What do you focus on the most on your works?

I’m mostly concerned with how the work reacts to people. Presence of the viewers is very important, especially when it’s working against and making them question their engagement with it.

How do you implement technological systems in your art? While creating your art digitally what are the your main tool for you? Is there any significant technical details for us that help you in production? What are whose?

I use available interactive and immersive technologies such as Processing, Arduino, Kinect and the UDK game engine. I use these because they allow for near seamless interaction with viewers. Interactive technologies capture contemporary subjects engagement and reliance on technologies that create invisible social and interpersonal networks. There’s a lot of trial and error involved with these programs but once you figure out how to work them, it’s very rewarding. 

In general how is your experience about studying art? What are your future plans? Any coming project that you could share with us?

One thing that I’ve begun to understand is the environments that I work best in and the kind of artists that motivate me to the best of my ability. Studying a subject that is critical of your approach and convictions definitely makes you question things more often so of course it’s beneficial to be around others who will discuss your work in-depth with you. However, the college aspect of it is something I haven’t enjoyed as much.

In the next few months, as well as working towards my degree show, I will be applying to graduate residencies around Dublin, and maybe the rest of Ireland. I want to sustain my art practice and get out of my comfort zone. In a year or two I might take a year to study a Creative Digital Media course to expand my skills with interactive technologies, which will enable a more professional and multimedia finish to my pieces.

As for upcoming exhibitions, I will be working with a group from the UK and the Netherlands in Rotterdam this March, and then in June I’ll have my degree show with the rest of my year in NCAD. For these shows, I will be continuing with my ‘real time’ pieces.

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Thanks to Twitter I can Pinpoint my Existential Crisis.

And here it is.

End screen to VRTL GRVYRD