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?
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?
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?
OC: Your technique is a little unusual. Tell us how you would 'paint' a piece for 'The Code'.
CK: Well, it's not so much painting as 'scraping'. I apply acrylics to my canvas or board and scrape it across using ordinary DIY wallpaper scrapers from B&Q. I sometimes use emulsions as a base colour but slightly gelatinous acrylics are much better because they put up a bit of resistance to the scraping motion and create those fantastic, unpredictable shapes. I don't feel comfortable using brushes, unless I'm highlighting texture or something.
OC: You don't use oils?
CK: No. I don't have the patience. I'm a typical man I suppose, I need to see instant results! I can't wait three months for anything to dry.
OC: You experimented with decoupage techniques on your 'Black Box Project'. What prompted you to modify your technique?
OC: Do you think this is a permanent step for you?
CK: It's certainly going to remain a part of what I do. I enjoy doing it. I enjoy the process of digital modification, correcting and editing photography. Then the process of transplanting or superimposing digital work onto something quite obviously 'old school' like a box canvas is great. I like the contradiction. I'll keep experimenting though. I think that 'Black Box' has reached a stage where it needs a good deal of development now. It wants to become a three dimensional entity. I have to spend some time figuring out how to enable that to happen. I think there's enough continuity in the subject matter I work with that I can play around with technique and presentation without making my portfolio too disparate.
CK: There should always be a journey involved. I think that it's important to know where you started, where you are currently and where you are trying to get to. You need to have that sense of 'place' in order to understand how you are going to grow.
OC: Are any of your friends Artists?
CK: My sister-in-law, Willow Cairn, is an Artist and I have an old friend who is a very talented Writer. In the last year or so I have started to get to know several other Artists and would definitely call many of them friends now. So, yes. It's been a really positive experience getting to know other Artists because I felt quite isolated at times, in the beginning. It's really important to form networks and connections if you are going to exist in the art industry for any length of time.
OC: Is that a tip? Do you have any others?
CK: I have lots of tips but I'm saving them for my first book!! No, I'm not really. But it is really important to interact with other people in the industry, other Artists, Gallery owners, Development Officers, buyers & collectors, anybody you can get your hands on. You really need a point of reference, a way of obtaining worthwhile feedback or validation. You need support too which can come from various different sources but there are lots of organisations within this industry that can provide support. Get out there and make connections. Take part. You'll wait a long time for Charles Saatchi to stumble in to your Studio and discover you if you haven't made the effort to share your work with the world in the first place.
OC: Thanks Craig.
(June 2006)
