Tahnee Lonsdale Interview by Mark M. Whelan

“A life without art is a terrifying prospect.”

Wind- Up Bird – 91cm x 122cm acrylic mixed-media on wood board

Inspired by the novel Wind-up Bird Chronicles by Murakami

The Three Of Us is 70cm x 107cm acrylic on wood board

“The Three Of Us has also borrowed from the novels of Murakami, although, it is more of a reflection of myself and deals with darker, more personal issues”

Is art your first love or do you have another passion?

Art is totally my first love (not including my husband, son and miniature sausage dog Parsley). I can’t imagine doing anything else. A life without art is a terrifying prospect.

Tell me about yourself, where you live and your background/lifestyle?

I was born in Reading, not very exciting i know, in 1982. I have three sisters, two older, one younger. We were bought up very liberally and were not restricted in what we chose to strive for. In fact, i was very much encouraged to pursue my artistic endeavors.

Is there anything about the way you produce your work that you believe to be unique or unusual?

I’m a thinker, a day dreamer. I see things in colours, even the alphabet appears as a series of colours in my mind. I am quite nostalgic too, i think a lot of this is present in my art and is often the driving force behind some paintings. I often feel sad and lonely, not in a bad way, but in a solitary, self-encapsulating way, i wallow in my melancholy to create a mood for my art, and then i counteract it with rich and sickly colour, vibrant in its defiance of sadness.

All art must be unique in some respect due to the uniqueness of the person making it. My thoughts are unique to me, they are my own and i try to express them in the best way possible. I suppose the total spontanaity of my work is quite unique, the total lack of planning or insight into the final piece. I do borrow/steal from a lot of other artists though. I love the pallets of Doig, the compositions of Diebenkorn and the style of Basquiat. Without them i’m not sure where i would be?

Who do you feel has influenced art most this century?

who has influenced art most this century? this can’t be attributed to one person i’m afraid. I could easily be lazy and say Saatchi or Hirst, or even think a little harder and say Pollock, but i’m not sure i’d be right. I suppose it’s a matter of opinion. The 80’s and 90’s were definitely an exciting time in terms of the YBA’s, and the Sensations exhibition. The work seems to respond to a lack of meaning in ones lives, the meaninglessness of it all. Why are we here? what is the point? ‘when we die we just rot’ kind of feeling. Marc Quinn’s blood head ‘Self’, and especially Hirst’s ‘A Thousand Years’, a large glass containing maggots and flies feeding off a rotting cow’s head, nothing seemed more evocative of a time in which we were so unsure of the meaning of life. We are just flesh and blood and that is it, meaningless.

Who first influenced you artistically?

I was first inspired by Klimt, i couldn’t help but be entranced by the beauty of his work. We had the print of The Kiss in my parents living room, which i then stole for my bedroom, i loved it and continue to be influenced by it now.

Who inspires you?

I’m inspired by the world around me, the colours, the mundaneness of life, the love stories of strangers. Nostalgia and childhood. Artists that inspire me are generally painters, although i can be inspired simply by a mood something creates. I love the work of Vikram Kushwah, he’s a photographer, his pieces are so beautiful and dark, sinister and vulnerable all at once. I also love the work of Eddie Martinez, his application of paint is so bold and strong, i love his colours and the contrast of his paintings.

What role does the artist have in society?

The obvious answer would be to challenge society, express our views of society. I don’t really feel this with my art, i try to make beautiful and interesting art that makes the individual/viewer ask questions, about the painting, what’s happening, where are they? and perhaps see themselves within the painting. I think the artist has many different roles, but i think its important that art becomes more part of society, that it is more available and less elitist.

Tahnee Lonsdale was born in 1982. She graduated from Byam Shaw School of Art in 2006, with a BA in

Fine Art. She now lives and works in London. Her current work can be seen at the “London Calling” exhibit at The OCCCA in Orange County California USA.

www.tahneelonsdale.com

thanks to Mark M. Whelan

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