Conrad Shawcross
“The more the Artist loses control of its meaning the better the art is.”
Interview by: Natalia Gonzalez Martin
Could you tell us a bit about yourself and your background? Where did you study?
I am an abstract artist working with geometry, mathematics, and philosophy. I studied at Chelsea School of Art, London, the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford, and the Slade at UCL in London.
Your work is often site-specific, what are the main differences in producing this type of work?
It can be site-specific but I work in many different ways. When working to commission the space, the context and material juxtaposition all play a big role in the evolution of an idea. Also, the relationship between the patron and their desires should not be underestimated.
Tell us a bit about how you spend your day/studio routine? What is your studio like?
It's basically a factory in which I try to conceive, design, engineer and then make as much as possible in-house. We have welders, lathes, mills, and overhead cranes. I'm hoping to be able to buy a Cnc laser cutter soon to add to our in house potential. I'm a great believer in linguistic determinism but also tool determinism. Learning a new word or a new tool expands the way we can think.
What have been the pivotal moments that have led you to where you are today?
Visiting the Science Museum in London, particularly the old maths Gallery, led to many pivotal moments and some major epiphanies. Whenever I needed inspiration I would visit this place and it was an immensely rich vein for me.
Paradigm B chamfer structural 4m, Eye Of The Huntress 2020
Formation Study I (The Dappled Light of The Sun) 2016
The Interpretation of Movement (a 9:8 in blue) 2017
Highly scientific, your practice can be disseminated into hundreds of different layers of meaning, what are your main sources of inspiration?
I adore the conversation around an object, the ambiguity of its meaning, and the poetic potential. The more possible interpretations an object has the more successful it is as an artwork. The more the Artist loses control of its meaning the better the art is.
How do you go about naming your work?
Sometimes this happens incredibly naturally and easily - like The Dappled Light of the Sun. Other times I really struggle and it goes down to the wire. The piece I had at St Pancras International - called The Interpretation of Movement -was an example of this as it was only named the day before it opened.
We all have had to adapt to new ways of showing work, allowing us to explore the digital realm to do this. The Eye of The Huntress provides an immersive experience as an alternative to visiting an exhibition in real life. How do you feel this affects the way in which people interact with your work?
I hope the physical experience of enjoying an artwork is never completely replaced by the virtual but I think in this crisis moment it is a great way to access art.
You are the youngest member at the RA, how has this position affected your career and what have you learned from it?
It's a bit embarrassing that they still wheel me out as this, as I’m 43 now and have been the youngest member for 8 years! It's high time we elect someone younger!
And the other way around? How do you feel your position as a young artist impacts a historical institution like the RA?
I hope I bring a different perspective but my time as a Royal Academician has made me very respectful of my elder peers. The most important thing that has been accelerated since I joined is the urgent emphasis on electing more diverse artists and of course more women.
Is there anything else in the pipeline?
We are building a new Rope Machine this year that I have been developing for ten years now. It's a highly complex vast 12 metre wide machine with a-symmetry as its key dogma. Every arm is a different length, each spool a different thickness and all the gearing is aperiodic. Suspended from the ceiling it will incrementally make an umbilical cord-like rope when it is finally permanently installed in MONA in Tasmania.
Banner image: Fracture (R24W4) [2018]
All images are courtesy of the artist and Eye Of The Huntress
Date of publication: 21/01/21
