Shortcuts #11
Takeover by Diana Agunbiade-Kolawole
We'd like to welcome you to ‘Shortcuts,' our end-of-month 6-question interview on our Substack platform, followed by a six-day daily takeover of our Instagram account by the featured artists and galleries. Please take a moment to click here to subscribe to our Instagram if you haven't already. Now, without further ado, please welcome artist Diana Agunbiade-Kolawole.
Diana Agunbiade-Kolawole’s artistic work is rooted in photographic processes, but it is rarely presented as a simple photograph. It can be a performance, an installation, or a collage. When she poses a fundamental question about how truthful one's portrait can be, she also uses basic photographic materials to examine the core of the photographic representation. In live performances, the artist coats her body in chemicals and leaves an imprint or breathes chemicals on the sensitive paper. The trace of her body is not fixed and remains in constant change.
In "Black Glow" exhibited in Kulturhuset in Stockholm at the notable exhibition ”The Threshold is a Prism” by Platform Southnord, Agunbiade-Kolawole extends her method by using phosphorescent matter. "This serves as an introduction to the idea that the body exists in one realm, consciousness exists in another, and unconsciousness exists in a third realm, all present within the same physicality", she states as she continues to examine possibilities to represent different layers of personality, looking for an “honest portrait”.
Diana Agunbiade - Kolawole holds an MFA from the Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm, and a BA in photography from Kingston University in London.
She continues to live and work between those two places.
What conversations do you hope your work will spark?
My works are about lived experiences; therefore, I hope they become an entry point into various forms of dialogue. This dialogue can be based on aesthetics, the mundane, or metaphysical thought and philosophy. I can imagine it ranging from a casual encounter with someone whom the viewer will never come into contact with again, to nudging discussions that the viewer has difficulty initiating. Diana the artist can speak freely, while Diana the person must carefully choose her words. My works usually illustrate the thoughts and ideas in my head, and I hope people can annotate those thoughts with their own interpretations, leading to others illustrating their thoughts and ideas as well.
Could you describe your creative process? Tell us about one of your projects.
I am nearing the end of the first phase of a project with the working title "Pause Year." The process for this work is very different from how I have worked before. I began by collecting old prints, test strips, paper waste, and experiments from previous works, all made with wet photography, and tried to create a new image. Each piece is based on intuition while striving for a sense of balance. These elements are likely present in all the works I have produced before, although they create a new type of tension when there are no specific topics to communicate or clear gestures present. My works are usually concept-based; I start with an idea, daydream about it for a while, and then conduct research into it. This research can take the form of visual art, text, video, or even visits. I then consider how to translate what is in my head into something visual. After this, I enter a stage of experimentation and development, re-trying until I arrive at a point where I can move forward. If I have a deadline, I push on until it works out; if not, I may abandon it and return later.
How does your studio or workspace (physical or mental) look?
My studio is a basement room with two medium-sized windows, measuring around 12sqm. In the corner of the desk against the wall is an enlarger, and on the table are bits and pieces of prints that I am using to make collages. Perpendicular to that is a fabric wall organiser. Along the wall with the table and enlarger, there is a low storage cabinet. On the opposite side, there is a tall L-shaped cabinet with wooden shutters. Along that same wall lies an old worktable that I have been meaning to build a storage shelf for but have yet to get around to it. At the moment, there are many prints and old works in the studio, as I am working on a collage series and preparing for an exhibition later in the year with Sofia Runarsdotter. I usually prefer to do a lot of work at home since some of the processes are repetitive and I can do them while watching a show. However, with this project, it consumes a lot of space and becomes very untidy, hence I have to be in the studio.
Is your art influenced by where you were born or where you live now?
I would definitely say my work is affected by where I live. I have worked with text quite a lot, often filled with jargon, jokes, and references that do not translate on a larger scale. Now, my intention is to create works that are open to all. There are aspects that work on a visual sensory level, loaded with semiotics, if the viewer knows how to find them. I believe all humans want to be understood; therefore, I make work that I hope is not alien to the audience in my vicinity and beyond.
Who are some of your most important female (womxn) sources of inspiration and influence?
Adrian Piper, Annette Messager, Sophie Calle, Ingrid Pollard, and my mum, who has featured prominently in my work. She is also the one who convinced me to study photography for “fun” at 16 years old, and then tried to persuade me to go into medicine, saying, “X-rays are photographs that you take with very big cameras.” The works of the artists above also possess a comic sensibility that I enjoy. And, of course, my contemporaries, but then I would have to list all my friends.
What personally or professionally excites, worries, or keeps you connected?
I am very excited about photography; it has changed so much since I started working with it. I am also fascinated by how accessible it has become to take photographs, yet there are also difficulties that come with a medium that requires constant education.
For further information about Diana Agunbiade-Kolawole, please visit her website and Insta pages, but first, spend the next week with Diana by following her takeover of our Instagram page!
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