Archive Interview : Nigh
I wasn’t aware of her until Shauna introduced us, but once I learned of how she is engaged with editing and writing for various magazines in addition to curation, I was drawn at once to the strength of her vitality. In her exhibition Mushrooms, in which P.A.M. was also a participant, it goes without saying that all the works were brilliant, and the theme and participating artists were profound. The real charm of her as a curator, one who created her own exhibition while sharing her proposal with the artists, could even be felt through the photographs of the exhibition. Her energy is not just limited to the exhibitions and magazines with which she engages; for example her direct communication with me through email, her responses to this interview, and also her dancing videos viewable on Instagram also transmit her energy. However, it’s not a power that pressures one to rush, it’s a positive energy that brings a smile or inspires. We would like impart that energy to you.
How have you spent your time during quarantine/lockdown?
Dancing – sometimes up to three hours a day learning choreography to online dance classes. My Instagram became a constant feed of ‘hair whips’ and ‘step ball change’. I was also insanely productive.
I wrote a large book on contemporary collage for Gestalten, curated a sticker project to raise funds for NHS charities and launched a magazine LIMBO, a document of this moment where all the profits were split between contributors. It was my first time as a full Editor of a magazine, and me and the team never met in person due to quarantine! We did it all online which was a total first.
The dance videos on your Instagram are brilliant! Have you been learning dance for a long time?
I've been dancing for about six years, initially going once a week then up to three times a week. I largely do commercial classes, which is essentially learning choreography to pop and RnB songs in trainers or ridiculous stilettos. My hobby went into overdrive in lockdown. I couldn't leave the house for weeks initially. At the same time, dance teachers around the world started doing classes on Patreon, Zoom and Instagram live. I was doing three or four hours a week, posting things on my Instagram half the time as a record of my progress and also to share the sheer, ridiculous fun of what I was doing. In contrast to the weight of the pandemic, dancing was the ultimate antidote. My mood changes immediately. I think the obvious joy I have also spread to people watching me. I'm clearly an imperfect dancer - and I'm also not a nubile Tiktok teen! But it makes me so happy. I cannot recommend a more positive thing to do at this moment. Without the pandemic, I would never have been able to access the classes outside of a studio. Its incredible that I can now.
Please tell us what candidly what your thoughts were when PAM contacted you to be a part of Positive Messages.
I came on board very early to the PAM project. I felt it was an incredible response to the moment. There was so much fear at the time, and perhaps still is. It provided a total contrast of thinking. A way of viewing the shift as something fundamental and needed and good rather than putting the focus on the growing death and case numbers of the pandemic.
Please tell us the thoughts and background behind the work that you provided for this project.
I curated a large exhibition at Somerset House in London at the end of January called Mushrooms: The Art, Design and Future of Fungi. This was the second show I have done on the subject, following a small exhibition in Paris at galerie pcp called Champignons in 2017. PAM were in both exhibitions, presenting different hand-made rugs of mushrooms. The exhibition included artists like Cy Twombly, Beatrix Potter, John Cage and Takashi Murakami, as well as lots of younger artists like Hamish Pearch, Lawrence Owen, Adham Faramawy and Seana Gavin. I learnt so much about the positive role fungi play in the world. I wanted to share how incredible they were. Mushrooms have survived millions of years. The more you learn about them the more they blow your mind.
I saw the photos of the exhibited works, and it’s a very interesting exhibition. What made you interested in fungi in the first place?
Art is always the thing that leads me to new ideas. I kept noticing artists working with mushrooms as a motif. Originally, my sister Seana Gavin, then Jeremy Shaw, who I have worked with on many shows and it just exploded from there. The more I read about mushrooms the more interesting they became. They are closer to animals than plants! Many trees and plants could not survive without them. They really are fascinating metaphors for contemporary positive existence. I even have @theartofmushrooms Instagram account, which I would love to turn into a visual book, collecting all the fungi art I find.
The job of curation requires various abilities and senses such as planning, execution, management, but what do you think a “good curator” is, and what do you think is essential to be one?
All those practical skills are very important; however, I think the main skill is the ability to place objects together to create new dialogues and communicate ideas. I personally do not like shows where you feel a curator is showing off. I want exhibitions that inspire, invite, and educate an audience to learn more. I personally want to make exhibitions that appeal to an audience far beyond the art world and make them realise that contemporary art is one of the most inspiring spaces for new thinking.
What do you keep in mind when communicating the theme and direction of your curated exhibition to the contributing artists?
I love working with artists. I always present a summary of the idea and why I find it interesting. Usually, I am approaching them because it is something I can already see is an interest in their work. Like all curators, there are a number of artists I have worked with more than once, and know that the communication and ability to adapt to different themes is smooth. Interestingly most of the exhibitions I have created in some way touch on recurring themes too - the psychedelic or countercultural, rave and the ecstatic, and our wider relationship with technology. There is a lot of trust working with artists and curators but my main aim is to create opportunity to showcase what artists are doing in the best way possible.
Do you think that the transformation of the world during the current pandemic could be a turning point for further evolution of your creations?
Definitely. I think it has shifted so much for me personally and creatively. After three months of total isolation in London, I moved to Vienna where I am now. I think this is the time for smaller cities you can cross by foot. I’m very inspired my new location, the people I’ve met here, the different pace of life. I am completely in love with my apartment as a place of refuge. I am also thinking how what I do creatively can have a positive impact. I am working on a book about art and politics at the moment. I also hope to find a publisher who is interested in doing a visual book about the representation of mushrooms. I am giving myself more time to look for inspiration and innovation. Addressing climate change and resisting the rise international fascism also feel very very important right now.
You must be very busy curating, writing, editing, etc., but you’ve also moved to Vienna and danced so much. This leads me to believe that you are a very powerful woman! What motivates you in this difficult situation?
My motivation this year has transformed completely. In the first wave of lockdown I was totally not used to not being active in the world. Being productive - dancing three hours a day, writing an incredible amount - was a way to replace a life of travel, exhibition going and stimulus. Things shifted dramatically again in July when I first came to Vienna, originally for a one day film shoot in an art collection. I packed for three months and no idea how long I would stay. A friend gave me their apartment while they went away to Italy and I ended up staying all summer. Everything went well - I made incredible friends, I went swimming in the Danube everyday. I eventually found an incredible flat to rent and I'm staying on for the second wave. My motivation now is less about productivity (though I am working on more than one book project, and still dancing an hour each day). Now, my motivation is about emotions and my inner life. I'm working on developing a deeper connection to how I feel - perhaps for the first time in my life. Life is much calmer, slower, more peaceful. I keep saying if you make it through this year happy and in good mental health, you've won.
About the world from now on, how do you think it will change, especially in regards to creativity?
Everything is less about the ego. I think we are all interested in collaboration more. I think how people spend their money and energy has also shifted. If something doesn’t have an altruistic vein to it, it feels strange.
Could you send a positive message for the future in your own words directed to our readers?
Don’t dream it, be it.
Profile
Francesca Gavin is a curator and writer based between London and Vienna. She is the Editor of LIMBO, a contributing editor at Financial Times’ How to Spend It and Kaleidoscope magazines and the Art Editor of Twin, Good Trouble and Beauty Papers. She was the co-curator of the Historical Exhibition of Manifesta11 and has curated exhibitions internationally including Mushrooms (Somserset House), The Dark Cube (Palais de Tokyo), E-Vapor-8 (Site Sheffield), and The New Psychedelia (Mu). Gavin has written seven books including The Art of Collage 3, Watch This Space, The Book of Hearts, 100 New Artists and Hell Bound: New Gothic Art. She has a monthly radio show, Rough Version, on NTS Radio on art and music.
