What are you currently working on—and what do you find particularly stimulating or challenging about it?
I am installing my solo show ›The subtle rules the dense‹ at Kindl—Centre for Contemporary Art in Berlin this week; so thinking a lot about how the space will come together and setting a scene for these new works. It will be the first time my series of armors and ›Infidels‹ will stand together, there will be a gold reflective platform to bridge the two, as they speak to interior and exterior ideas of our bodies’ aliveness. I’m also making a book within a book for a forthcoming publication on artist Beverly Buchanan, it will accompany a show at Haus Am Waldsee. It is a fan fiction/love letter titled ›Homosexual Land Art‹. The challenge and stimulation lies in my love for her work, and how to convey that adoration, reverence and scholarship/nerdism—in a way that felt true and also spoke to the pedagogical dialogues we can have when getting into the thick of it, resonating with another artists’ offerings. Alongside the work she published and exhibited while she was alive, we now also have access to her beautifully kept papers, covering her own writing, letters, sketches and documentation.
Do you have a daily ritual that gives you structure or inspiration?
Waking up! Literally and spiritually. Awakening to the day and its possibilities, the rituals vary depending on mood and time of year. But are all in some way making some space before life does its thing.
What kind of music do you listen to when you want to focus or reconnect with your creative process?
I have a playlist called ›Devotion‹ that my girlfriend made for me and I play it to refocus, it is calming. It starts with Chelsea Wolfe ›Flatlands‹. Something familiar and melodic.
Has there been a book that fundamentally changed your perspective—and why would you recommend it?
I think reading is a collaborative process, just like experiencing art in a gallery. It’s not only about the words on the page but the millions of thoughts bustling around, and associations being made as I read. So in that sense it feels as though reading is often such an active process—especially when it’s interesting—that many things can feel fundamental in a more incremental way…
Some things that have moved me are Rianna Jade Parker’s essay in Frieze magazine on Jamaica’s intuitive artists. ›Orwell’s Roses‹ by Rebecca Solnit was an interesting one for me ruminating on the bucolic fantasies vs. reality of England intertwined with political urgency and contradictions. Also reading Sylvia Wynter for the first time, and every time there are significant shifts in thinking.
Is there a work of art you would love to have in your home?
One of Donald Locke’s ceramics, I would keep it somewhere it could be easily taken out to hold.
Which exhibition venue in Berlin inspires you?
I like the Hamburger Bahnhof building, possibly more so for the memories of visiting the city for the first time when I was younger.
Is there an object that accompanies you and reflects a part of your identity?
My gold chain with a lion charm I wear everyday. They are both very old gifts from my family, who are also full of Leo star signs.
What keeps you going, even in moments of doubt?
Love and purpose.
Which personality would you like to have a conversation with—and what would you talk about?
Beverly Buchanan! I’d want to talk about everything.
What do you look forward to when your working day comes to an end?
Relaxation.