WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE RIDICULOUS BECOMES MUNDANE?
"Birth Of"
Story by Mariam Magsi
At times we come across artwork that can be provocative yet pleasing to the eye. Sophie Alda is one such artist working out of East London in the United Kingdom, who paints imaginatively unique pieces that pull the viewer into her mind’s expressions with a magnetic force. Alda depicts dark, almost cartoon-like characters with exaggerated heads, minimal limbs and rather eerie teeth, using soft colours and dreamy contours that are in complete contrast to the intriguing and candid subjects of her paintings. Some pieces, with odd titles such as “Naked Summer’s Thigh” and “Earworms”, are laden with kaleidoscopic imagery that it is hard to look away from.
Plaid had the pleasure of speaking to Alda about her mediums, inspirations, and words of wisdom for other artists.
How did you get into painting?
My work used to be very texture-based – quite stark and mostly monochrome. I stumbled across gouache whilst messing around trying to incorporate more colour into my visual language – as it was originally quite intimidating. It’s vibrant and powdery and flat and precise – you can’t work layers upon layers, as the paint reopens on contact with water but it dries almost instantly; you can be quick but the colour has such depth. It’s a contradiction, as colour adds a whole dimension to monochromatic texture, but the image is still perfectly flat.
What are some techniques and mediums you use the most in your work?
At the moment I paint gouache on paper but the mediums and techniques any artist uses should never be set in stone – there’s nothing wrong with a frenetic style. I’ve just installed a silk screen print bed in my studio for the small label, Archaea Press, that I run with Joseph Wood, so that’ll be a big feature in upcoming work. I’d like to find a way of creating layers with gouache so [I] have been working with a mix of riso print, gouache and screen print. I’d like to varnish everything to mess up my own powder flat finish and add depth. I do also love the immediacy of black ink in working out an idea.
"Jungle"
What inspires you to paint?
An attraction to exciting imagery, a desire to get lost in motion and activity and repetition, a desire to communicate before it’s all finished. A joke.
My paintings are just a reflection of experience and imagined experience. I spent a lot of time in the last few years painting a series in response to stories about religious ritual and defunct creation myth, which often compliment or directly contradict those told in modern religions. That and images about lost and losing time and opportunity. Sex and the senses, the mundane, the ridiculous, and when the ridiculous becomes mundane.
Your work has a very unique style; how would you describe it?
Landscapes and portraits, embarrassingly honest non-narratives.
Is it important to be formally trained in painting or can anyone with artistic vision become a painter?
I wasn’t trained to paint, and being trained to paint doesn’t necessarily mean that you can do it well. To be a painter all you need to do is get a hold of some paint.
How important is painting in today’s day and age?
It’s important to anyone who thinks it’s important. The medium can be a starting point just as well as being a statement.
Has innovation in technology, specifically photography, impacted the value of traditional forms of art, such as painting?
Photography can be about perfected vision or it can be a jumble. It can be a much more efficient way of telling a visual truth but it can also easily be an exaggeration, and either can be equally interesting. Painters can acknowledge the history of their medium or choose to ignore them all together, and they can exaggerate even more extravagantly.
How has your experience as an artist been in the UK?
It’s an upsetting time to be living in the UK as our education system has changed dramatically in the past few years – considerably increased fees since I studied and fear of lack of employment after graduation may possibly result in less individuals choosing formal arts education as many young people feel priced out. Personally, however, I find the young active community in London has been exceptionally exciting, fast evolving and very accessible. Perhaps the recession has made artists more creative in finding ways to practice; I’ve been quite lucky finding complimentary work in restoration and prop and set building – which I love because it’s practical and I get to climb scaffolding. But it can take a long time to find your niche. There are lots of talented people around.
Your colours are low contrast and almost matte in nature. Why do you employ this method of painting?
I like the subtleties when working in detail in a low contrast palette.
Which art movements have influenced your work?
The activity of Dutch and Flemish renaissance painters, NASA’s ’70s utopia painters, and architecture from all eras in London, Brighton and Edinburgh.
Can you name some contemporary artists that inspire your painting style?
Matthew Daniel Swan is an amazing painter who I met when I traveled to take part in a group show at his gallery, Superclub, in Edinburgh, and we’ve made a series of collaborative works since. Working in acrylic, gouache, coloured pen, coloured pencil and paper mache, his work is incredibly detailed and bright. Like if popular culture came and threw up on you. He’s also the most dedicated and prolific man I’ve ever met. He has an amazing understanding of colour and shape. He’s very intuitive and his work is a pleasure to look at. Robyn O’Neil works primarily in pencil, but her massive apocalyptic landscapes are unbelievable. Chris Pell is an amazing illustrator and artist who makes complex, grotesque scenes. His recent simple narrative works are excellent. I also saw some pieces by an artist called Christopher Smith which blew me away – flat works rendered in marbled plasticine. I love James Benjamin Franklin. He paints with bright vibrant colours and his ideas are very simple, direct and effective – a bit like Amy Cutler – different aesthetics but similar directness.
Some of your painted subjects are completely new to the eye; what is your creative process behind coming up with these subjects?
Persistent drawing and looking, it’s probably quite annoying.
What challenges have you faced as a painter?
Worrying that practice is self indulgent – that was a big deal for me for a long time. It is, but so is watching films, reading, and eating good food.
What have been your favourite paintings to date and why?
It should always be the next one, but I’m particularly fond of “Birth Of”. I’m happy with the balance and the purple mountain. I also like “Jungle” – I love working in grids.
Any words of wisdom for up and coming painters?
We’ve got decades of work ahead of us, which is unbelievably exciting. Sometimes I think we forget.
