Eiko Soga, (August 2012)

Eiko Soga (August 2012)

Eiko Soga, 151617181920212223062012, dimensions variable, 2012 (Photograph: Eiko Soga)

Eiko Soga, 151617181920212223062012, (detail), dimensions variable, 2012 (Photograph: Eiko Soga)

A Submersible: Could you describe the work you had in your Chelsea College of Art degree show this year?

Eiko Soga: 151617181920212223062012 was created for the viewer to encounter fleeting moments of changing natural light but most importantly to provoke their own perception and imagination. By building a wall which has a hole in it, I intervened in the original architectural space and in the existing interaction between natural and artificial light. Each viewer’s relationship with the work creates a unique encounter, which together as a whole completes the work itself. This work was developed from my interest in exploring the intangible world. I also made a book with my photographic work which accompanied my installation.

AS: So if we start by thinking about a typical viewer's experience at your show in Chelsea. There weren't any elaborate explanations on wall labels. So could you talk about your decision to leave it open?

ES: I thought about other possibilities, for example writing a story on the wall, just being quite descriptive about my idea or perhaps making a written book. But because my initial idea was to explore the viewer's perception I left it as simple as possible. I just wanted viewers to focus on their own senses and what they were experiencing.

AS: I was wondering about your interest in the viewer's perception, does that mean you were interested in it as a thing to create as you perhaps have done here? Or would you be interested in speaking with viewers and hearing what they thought?

ES: I think it's both. I don't need to speak with every viewer who experienced my work. But I would still be interested in hearing what they saw or how they experienced it.

AS: Your biography maybe isn't the most interesting thing for you in relation to your art. But what was really interesting for me last time we spoke, was how your were you saying that your own personal experiences are reflected in a subtle way in this work. So you talked about your experience of living in a warehouse with low light, which you described as a “black and white world" and your photographs of course are quite monochromatic. You also talked about your installation at Chelsea, about how you had created this barrier to the space which you could see into but not enter. And in relation to the restriction in access you mentioned how often we only notice something's gone when it's taken away. And I think you said that perhaps related to a cultural loss itself relating to cultural change….

ES: I think it is natural that my past experiences are all subconsciously related to my work. My past experience and interest form how I think and approach my practice.

AS: So after you described these experiences you had, when I was looking at these works I could see how there was the link. So for you was it subconscious at the time?

ES: I think working intuitively and questioning myself and the reasons for my decision making happens in turn. I like working both consciously and intuitively at the same time. It seems there is always a subconscious link between each work. It is often easier to find a link in my own works after I have made it. Sometimes I would make a little note when an inspiring event happens.

AS: So perhaps just to change tack a bit, I was looking at your photographs and they seemed quite coherent because I could spot these similarities in either one. I just wondered if that's an intuitive thing or was it a conscious decision...

I mean the way that you've got these patches of light, quite often they're interrupted by shadows. The pieces of black tape are in harmony in a sense with the light often running parallel to the shadows and often there's some fairly ordinary objects in the background. So were you just drawn to those kind of things intuitively or….

ES: I enjoy spotting the shapes of light which appear and disappear unexpectedly in relation to the surrounding architecture. I am drawn to them without a reason but when I put tape around them I tend to pick the light that I can react to very quickly.

AS: So I think you said that in your photos there are different surface patterns which is something you find interesting? Also, is there a sense in which you're engaging with the space via your photography?

ES: I'd see those spaces as surfaces, different characters of surface. So I guess when I'm working and observing the light I would think about the environment and the character of the space. But it's not really a way to engage with the space particularly. It's more to do with a way of engaging with the light.

AS: Is there anything else that you're drawn to? Certain kinds of light? Or is it just an intuitive appeal?

ES: I'm interested in subtly changing light, like in the Spring or Autumn.

AS: So the subtle and the mundane qualities that your photographs seem to have, are they to keep focus on the light or is there something about that kind downbeat ambiance for you?

ES: I am definitely interested in the magical surprise of subtle and mundane qualities.

AS: Maybe this is a massive question as well, but in terms of other artists are there any particular artworks or ideas that you kind of carry around with you?

ES: There aren’t any particular works or artists that I am specifically influenced by, although there are many artists and artworks that I like. I am interested in intangible things which have a greater effect on people than tangible reality. I look at artists and artworks that share similar interests as well as things that have nothing to do with my own interests.

AS: I also gather you've been elected for the Jerwood drawing prize, what work did that involve?

ES: Yes, one of my photograph is being shown at Jerwood and another piece at The National Open Art Competition at The Prince's Foundation Hoxton.

Links:

www.eikosoga.com

Interview conducted live online, (August 2012)

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