Craig Kerrecoe AMInstLM Interview
Profile
Biography
Gallery
Copyright of images belongs to the Artist.
Copyright of interview belongs to Ovenden
Contemporary (Art Promotions) Limited. Any
un-authorised use is strictly prohibited. All
rights are reserved.
(c) 2006 Ovenden Contemporary (Art Promotions)
Limited
OC: Congratulations for doing so well with 'The
Code' series. Did you imagine that this body of
work would become so popular?
CK: No, not at all. I never had any intention of creating a series in the first place. In 2004, when I started the work, I was just experimenting. It was all quite accidental really. I painted a piece called 'Noise' which really worked for me aesthetically, you know, I got that excitement you sometimes get when you finish a painting that really works. I painted it spontaneously, really, without a predetermined idea of any premise or concept behind the piece. But I really enjoyed the way it made me feel when I was going through the process.
OC: You were drawing upon emotions?
CK: No, not at all. I never had any intention of creating a series in the first place. In 2004, when I started the work, I was just experimenting. It was all quite accidental really. I painted a piece called 'Noise' which really worked for me aesthetically, you know, I got that excitement you sometimes get when you finish a painting that really works. I painted it spontaneously, really, without a predetermined idea of any premise or concept behind the piece. But I really enjoyed the way it made me feel when I was going through the process.
OC: You were drawing upon emotions?
CK: Kind of. I'm not sure whether I was drawing
on the emotions or if they were a response to
what I was painting. At the time I started the
series I was trying to resolve the way I felt
about a long-term estrangement and try to figure
out if there is a pattern in my genetic make-up
that would affect my future relationships with
those around me. When I painted 'Noise', it felt
like some kind of therapy, like I was
acknowledging an issue that needed a resolution.
OC: You've mentioned in the past that this series is connected with your relationship with your Father. Have you reached any resolution?
CK: It's not strictly about my relationship with him. It's more about my fear that my relationships with my own sons could break down in the future. The series has been an attempt to try to figure out what sort of pattern, if any, is controlling certain aspects of my life, of my personality. I need to know if I can exercise any control over who I am, how I react to and interact with those people around me. I know that, inevitably, I share a great deal of genetic code with my father and that concerns me. I want to try to understand how I can rely on my free-will, if such a thing exists, to bridge the gaps in the way I am 'programmed' to behave. Unfortunately, I haven't reached any resolution. I haven't really come to any conclusion either so, as a therapeutic process the work is failing!
OC: But it's still ongoing?
CK: Yes, definitely. All of the Agents representing me seem to be grateful when I complete new 'Code' paintings which is quite reassuring and I have been collaborating with Esther (Appleyard) towards a joint touring exhibition which will kick off at Three Cups Gallery in May 2007.
OC: How did all of this come about?
CK: Fate. We were both selected by Anna Laurini to feature in the Autumn Exhibition at the ill-fated 'Children Of Vision' project on Portobello Road earlier this year and I saw an example of Esther's work and thought it had some very obvious aesthetic links with my 'Code' series. I contacted her and said that I liked her work and it all just started from there really.
OC: You both employ quite a different motivation and thought process to produce what are, quite often, strikingly similar images. What message should we take from the project?
CK: I think one of the most intriguing considerations to come from the project is that things can be the same but different, and they can be different but still the same. I wasn't expecting to come to that conclusion when we decided to work together- I was more interested in exploring the different journeys we were both travelling to arrive at the same place. But, instead, I have been made aware of the fact that our individuality, our differences, unify us as well as dividing us. We are all unique, spiritually and genetically, and that is what makes us all the same. It's a challenging concept but it's quite reassuring in many ways.
OC: 'The Code' series is doing very well for you, especially in competition.
CK: Yes, it's popular. It still sells regularly and I get lots of positive feedback from other Artists regarding 'The Code' too. It still features as a major part of my creative output. The competition thing is quite strange really. There's a particular painting from the series called 'Dance With Me' which is really about the acknowledgment that I need to accept the genetic code that makes me who I am. It's quite a positive piece, in fact. It got through to the final exhibition in the 2005 South Holland Open Art Competition which was my first competition success. Then, earlier this year (2006) I submitted it to the Artist Of The Year Competition run by SAA as part of a mass submission and it was the only one to go through to the final round of judging. The trouble is, the painting sold a couple of weeks after I submitted it so I had to go back to the new owners and ask if I could 'borrow' it for a couple of months.
OC: They agreed?
CK: Yes, they were really nice about it. But, from their perspective, it's a good sign for the value of their painting if it does well in a competition.
OC: You've mentioned in the past that this series is connected with your relationship with your Father. Have you reached any resolution?
CK: It's not strictly about my relationship with him. It's more about my fear that my relationships with my own sons could break down in the future. The series has been an attempt to try to figure out what sort of pattern, if any, is controlling certain aspects of my life, of my personality. I need to know if I can exercise any control over who I am, how I react to and interact with those people around me. I know that, inevitably, I share a great deal of genetic code with my father and that concerns me. I want to try to understand how I can rely on my free-will, if such a thing exists, to bridge the gaps in the way I am 'programmed' to behave. Unfortunately, I haven't reached any resolution. I haven't really come to any conclusion either so, as a therapeutic process the work is failing!
OC: But it's still ongoing?
CK: Yes, definitely. All of the Agents representing me seem to be grateful when I complete new 'Code' paintings which is quite reassuring and I have been collaborating with Esther (Appleyard) towards a joint touring exhibition which will kick off at Three Cups Gallery in May 2007.
OC: How did all of this come about?
CK: Fate. We were both selected by Anna Laurini to feature in the Autumn Exhibition at the ill-fated 'Children Of Vision' project on Portobello Road earlier this year and I saw an example of Esther's work and thought it had some very obvious aesthetic links with my 'Code' series. I contacted her and said that I liked her work and it all just started from there really.
OC: You both employ quite a different motivation and thought process to produce what are, quite often, strikingly similar images. What message should we take from the project?
CK: I think one of the most intriguing considerations to come from the project is that things can be the same but different, and they can be different but still the same. I wasn't expecting to come to that conclusion when we decided to work together- I was more interested in exploring the different journeys we were both travelling to arrive at the same place. But, instead, I have been made aware of the fact that our individuality, our differences, unify us as well as dividing us. We are all unique, spiritually and genetically, and that is what makes us all the same. It's a challenging concept but it's quite reassuring in many ways.
OC: 'The Code' series is doing very well for you, especially in competition.
CK: Yes, it's popular. It still sells regularly and I get lots of positive feedback from other Artists regarding 'The Code' too. It still features as a major part of my creative output. The competition thing is quite strange really. There's a particular painting from the series called 'Dance With Me' which is really about the acknowledgment that I need to accept the genetic code that makes me who I am. It's quite a positive piece, in fact. It got through to the final exhibition in the 2005 South Holland Open Art Competition which was my first competition success. Then, earlier this year (2006) I submitted it to the Artist Of The Year Competition run by SAA as part of a mass submission and it was the only one to go through to the final round of judging. The trouble is, the painting sold a couple of weeks after I submitted it so I had to go back to the new owners and ask if I could 'borrow' it for a couple of months.
OC: They agreed?
CK: Yes, they were really nice about it. But, from their perspective, it's a good sign for the value of their painting if it does well in a competition.
