Aitch | Interview

We had a chat with Romanian artist Aitch about her work and future plans. It’s a delight talking to her, so hope you enjoy the interview as much as we do.

Hello, Aitch, happy to have you as guest on The re:art. Let’s start with your upcoming show – “Coffins” at La Petite Mort Gallery, together with Saddo. You said that the subject reflects your state of mind, mood, fears and insomnia, but also the beautiful experience after moving to Lisbon. Share some insights regarding this show and how you feel in Lisbon now.

Well, I guess that our “official” description of the show is actually pretty insightful, in such a degree that it might put some people off or maybe consider it too dramatic for the sake of being  dramatic; but heck, we really felt like shit during our first few months here and we had no money set aside for therapy sessions : ). I can now say that I’m over my Lisbon infatuation and I am hardly waiting to get back “home”. I also look forward to the days when I’ll consider this a beautiful experience, rather than a crazy experiment. It’ll probably come to me once I detach myself from this place.

Saddo and Aitch Coffins

Part of the upcoming “Coffins” show (August 15th – 28th, 2014), with Saddo, recently interviewed on The re:art

Speaking of coffins, we saw that this is also a constant theme in your recent works for the Art Yourself Gallery project – 11172014. How do you perceive your involvement/ evolution in the project so far?

It is?! : ) The 11172014 project started during the “terrible Portuguese winter” so it was kinda normal for coffins to pop out every now and then. When I accepted their proposal I thought that a good strategy would be to create a series of 11 pieces, corresponding to the 11 months and 11 exhibitions, all in the same spirit and technique so that when the project ends I get to have a really neat collection of works ready to be exhibited as a cohesive bunch… but my plan has failed : ) It was overthrown by the sun, the flowers, the fruit and all the other good stuff. Once the winter ended so did my serious canvases. I switched to paper and florals and a more light-fun attitude towards death… cause that’s all there is. *goth much*

Art Yourself Gallery

Part of “Possible Landscapes” exhibition at Art Yourself Gallery

Back to your works, on your Facebook page you have an album called “today in ze lab“, with works since 2012, varying from illustration, canvas to ceramics and even murals. What technique do you think defines you best, makes you feel most comfortable, what would you never try and what do you want to explore, but really didn’t get the chance yet?

Right now I believe that watercolors are my best friend, but having tried so many techniques gives away the fact that I often get bored with a certain medium and I switch to something else… anything to be able to create and not lose interest : )

I think that I will never try my hand at digital stuffsiez, I’m too much of a tactile/crafty person, so following this rational path I can passionately say that trying wood carving would make me the happiest illustrator in the world : )

Budapest mural

Mural in Budapest

We noticed a few recurring themes in your art – the chubby girls, the floral patterns. What do you think changed in the past few years regarding your style? What are you planning to experiment in “ze lab” in the following period? We saw, for example, that your latest works include small houses as details.

Huh, this is tough… I believe that they’re getting more personal by the year, or that I deliberately choose to make them personal, by adding specific elements, rather than just do something and then try and figure out what was going on with me during the process. Yes, the small houses are a pretty literal expression of the fact that I’m looking for a home of my own.

Aitch art

“Self”

Apart from the colourful and sometimes cute characters, you also have a dark side. When does it appear?

Every time I work while feeling shitty… simple as that : )

skeleton painting

Part of “Beautiful Us” series

You often collaborate with Saddo and have duo shows together. He told us that you had a great influence on his work, in terms of style and technique, as well as work ethic (read interview). He also said that he encouraged you to paint large murals. What was the most important thing you learned from Saddo or learned together as an artist duo?

I think I’ve learned to be more open-minded when it comes to jobs that at first I would quickly reject, and just take some time to think it through and maybe come up with a solution that fits both me and the client. Thank you, beibi.

You work as a freelance artist. What were the most interesting places (in terms of traveling or imagination) these freelance projects guided you to?

Every new project is kind of a new milestone and the interesting thing is that with every new project comes a new set of ideas, or technique improvements, or self-discoveries… so I guess that the whole process that happens internally, emotionally and rationally, is a pretty neat trip, every time. Also, traveling with work is pretty awesome too. So, as a conclusion, I think that the present is the most interesting place to be : )

Where are you heading right now? What’s on your agenda in 2014 and 2015?

Heading home, baby! At least, I hope so : ) This is my greatest wish right now, a lil place of my own where I can just work and live and not worry about that awful feeling of not belonging somewhere, or think twice before buying books or art because of having to leave them behind…

painting

Finally, please share a work that best describes your current state or that you feel like sharing with us right now.

Aitch Beautiful Us

Part of “Beautiful Us” series / Creative mood

All images © Aitch

View more on her website, on Facebook, InstagramBehance, Flickr. Visit her shop.