July 2012
Visiting Frillip Moolog
O.R.
Space and place is important to you and although your work is not strictly site-specific, the physical architecture and the site of displays affect its interpretation. In addition, you have created another type of place for your work- tell me about Frillip Moolog.
K.E.S.
When people encounter my sculptures (beings) they are usually struck by their sense of other worldliness; the incongruous combination of materials in ambiguous forms intrigues them. I aim to make work which resonates on a deeply emotive level and which acts as a vehicle to reconnect with a 'place' or memory deep in our subconscious. Frillip Moolog is the name that I have given to such a place.
In the studio
O.R.
Freud in Beyond Pleasure Principles sees play as a means of gaining control of a world in which the child is generally powerless. In your studio practice, is art a way to master and rehearse new situations? Do you play in your studio?
K.E.S.
As a child I was fascinated by the grown up world, and fantasised about being a sophisticated lady myself. I grew up on a farm in rural Scotland but the scenarios that I played out with my dolls were set in New York and Paris.
I discovered the work of Bruno Munari a few years ago and was excited to discover how influential play was in his design practice. Like him I play with ideas and materials in my studio. Having fun is very important; this goes back to my childhood where I wanted something more, more exotica, more sophistication, more excitement.
The beings that I make are all closely connected to me and could be seen as facets or extensions of my personality. I am especially motivated to make them so that they can go out into the world and have their own experiences. I do not want to master or rehearse new situations, rather I want the beings to project interesting experiences, My practice is about play.
O.R.
Are textiles more anthropomorphic than other media?
K.E.S.
As I have played with, handled and created with fabrics and yarns from an early age, I have a strength and fluency in the language of textiles. In my practice I don’t set out to intentionally make work which is seen as anthropomorphic, I simply make forms that I am interested in.
O.R.
Your work blurs the boundaries between fine art and craft. You have recently exhibited at the New Ashgate Gallery, Farnham, and your work was well received in the gallery (which has a strong craft collector base). How do you position yourself in relation to the concepts of craft and fine art?
K.E.S.
I make decisions as I go along, responding to the piece and amending my ideas as I make. I always make to the best of my abilities therefore the quality of finish is important to me, however I am more interested in how the beings make people feel rather than how well made they are.
Making work with a high standard of finish is just my style and although being directly involved in the making process of one’s work is usually associated with the craft world it is by no means exclusive to craft. I feel that my thought processes and intentions are more in line with fine art but I am happy to let the work to speak for itself. I believe that as people become more familiar with my practice they will become less concerned with putting it into one category or another.
The viewer and playfulness
O.R.
How important is the viewer's response in your work?
K.E.S.
I always get a response and it is usually one of intrigue. Not everyone likes my work but that’s fine; as long as they have a response one way or the other.
Two interesting responses by gallery visitors have included. “Wow that really reminds me of my Dad” (said about Chubby Blue) to another comment in a visitor book, "I came from France especially for this exhibition!... Not true of course but I have had great pleasure here today. This will make me happy for the whole weekend."
O.R.
Baudelaire wrote: "The plaything is the first initiation of the child to art". As we grow up we are told be rational and logical and we gradually forget how to play. Your work was recently shown as part of the At Play 2012 exhibition that I produce and co-curate with Cally Trench. At Play encourages the viewer to re-create a sense of what it is like to be child at play. What is your relationship to play and the audience?
K.E.S.
My aim is to encourage the viewer to be playful. I have in the past given the beings names which have suggested human attributes (e.g. Chubby Blue and Tall Legs), later works were given human names (e.g. Colin and Madeleine). The human names made the beings much more gender specific. More recent beings have been given names which are neither gender specific nor even particularly human (e.g. Mi Wawa and Hurgle Lenz) as I want to open up possibilities and to encourage viewers to use their own imaginations to create narratives around the beings.
I photographed Mi Wawa out in a meadow full of cows; the photo-shoot was eventful and entertaining and my memories of the day have really entertained me and brought a smile to my face. In the photograph, Mi Wawa is the performer but if the whole activity of capturing this photograph had been filmed then my son and I would also have been seen as performers as we carried Mi Wawa to the location and then herded cows around the field. There is mileage in staging more photo-shoots in interesting locations as it is another way to present my anarchic sense of humour and also to play with locations and narrative even more.
O.R.
Would you consider the viewer to be a participant in your work?
K.E.S.
Viewers’ responses to my work is of interest to me; I like when I get diverse responses to the same being, for example Mi Wawa has been likened to Marie Antoinette but also to “A great big pink blancmange with alien dreadlocks”. These responses add to the bank of feelings, images and ideas surrounding each being and I am able to use these responses to re-experience the beings myself.
O.R.
Do you think that your work may considered to be so much fun that the viewer may focus on these aspects of interpretation only?
K.E.S.
Often the first instinctive response to my work is to smile or even a laugh out loud. Humour is a powerful tool: it disarms people and breaks down barriers in an instant and helps people to reconnect with their feelings; this is what I am really interested in. The context in which my work is seen does have an impact on how it might be interpreted so I am careful as to where and how it is presented.
Although each being is completely unique people recognise them as coming from the same gene pool of ideas and influences- “The beings operate as members of an extended family and are at their most engaging when in dialogue with others of the same kind”. (1)
When they are exhibited in non-gallery spaces I think in terms of them taking up residence in that place- “Smith’s display draws on the uncanny, reinforcing the suggestion of a character and of an unknown intention. The result is a feeling of unease, akin to wondering what museum mannequins might get up to whilst your back is turned”. (1)
There is a difference between lightweight and playful; my work is serious precisely because of its humour.
(1) ‘Lurking with Intent an essay on the sculptural practice of Kirsty E Smith’ by Anneka French 2012
Outi Remes
is the Gallery Director at New Ashgate Gallery, Surrey. She leads the service, strategic direction and organisational objectives of the Gallery as an educational charity. She has lectured on contemporary art and exhibitions at the American International University in London, Birkbeck College, the University of London, the University of Reading and the Randolph Macon Woman's College, Reading. Previously, Outi worked as the Head of Exhibitions at South Hill Park Arts Centre and was awarded a PhD from the University of Reading. She is a committee member of the Museums and Exhibitions Group, the Association for Art History, creating a cross-dialogue between academics and arts professionals.Outi's professional specialisms include gallery management and mentoring emerging talent. She also has academic expertise and a proven track record of curating and facilitating participation, for example in 'Rules and Regs' live art residences and the ACE funded, touring 'At Play' exhibition series (with Cally Trench, re-creating a sense of what it is like to be a child at play. Outi is the first editor of 'Conspiracy Dwellings: Surveillance in Contemporary Art' (with Pam Skelton) and 'Performativity in the Gallery: Staging Interactive Encounters' (with Laura MacCulloch and Marika Leino). She is also the co-editor of 'Crossing Borders: Translation and Nostalgia in Contemporary Art' (with Ming Turner).