An Interview with Aine Cassidy
Your solo exhibition, BEARDfest: A Pogonological Celebration, opened last week at bookartbookshop, London N1. What drew you to explore and portray this - some might say eccentric - world of pogonology?
It all started last year when I was doing my MA illustration at Camberwell College. Each student had to submit a piece of work for a small internal exhibition entitled 'Cover'. I started thinking of how to interpret this theme and thought of the idea of beards and moustaches as a covering for the face. As I started reading up a about facial hair and soon became aware of the whole vocabulary associated with it. It was the seemingly ridiculousness of it that attracted me.
Your style is really enhanced by the use of letterpress – you appear to use it in a conservative, buttoned-down way, which sits really well with your mixed media illustration. Was the discovery of letterpress a happy accident?
I've always been a bit of a type nerd which probably stems from my background as a designer. Graphic design is a very time sensitive - you often need to work quickly to produce something ephemeral. Letterpress is the opposite in that it's a slow, labour intensive process and perversely this appeals to me! It makes you think more carefully about what you're creating or the message it's communicating. I've developed a real appreciation for hand-made things over the years and enjoy the physical process involved. The result is ultimately more satisfying because you're creating something less transitory and more precious.
I can’t count how many different textiles, threads and other media you choose to draw with. Do you work on a piece until you get it right or discard and restart regularly?
I work mainly in notebooks and in quite an experimental, organic way. I'm collecting and collaging on an ongoing basis so when I start generally I don't know how something is going to turn out! I'm a big fan of collage and work in my notebooks and in photoshop to positioning and repositioning all the different elements until it starts to feel right. Because of the round about way that I work, I don't generally restart projects but instead work through the process as often it's the happy accidents which create the best results.
How do you approach an editorial illustration job?
Because I try to constantly generate my own work, when a commission comes along I have a palette of textures and patterns to work from. Once I've digested the article there is usually a slant or a theme which stands out for me which I start to work with. Much of my work is collage based so I begin to make drawings, mono-prints and photographs and composite them together.
Do you have a dedicated work space?
I do most of my work from home. I'm generally quite a tidy person but because I use lot's of different materials in my work, my room sometimes start to resemble a bomb site!
Has your multidisciplinary approach to image-making has proven advantageous when conveying a particular idea or story?
I think working in a multi-diciplinary way helps to achieve more narrative subtlety. My work is generally more about suggesting a certain atmosphere or reflecting the mood of the piece rather than directly depicting it.
Tell us a little about how your Irish upbringing has directly influenced your work.
I think the craft element in my work stems from my primary school. I attended St. Clare's NS in Balyjamesduff which was a girls' convent school. There was a strong tradition of knitting, crochet, art and singing - much more fun than Maths and English! The secondary school I attended also had a really strong art department so I guess I was quite lucky in that creativity was always encouraged and nurtured.
What’s been inspiring you lately?
I've attended a few exhibitions recently which have taken place in alternative spaces that I found really interesting. 'Is it Over' exhibition took place an underground bunker in Dalston and featured the work of a small group of emerging contemporary artists. All the work in the show responded to the space and so the whole thing worked really well. Similarly 'The Market Estate Project' was a one day event last March where a 1960’s housing estate scheduled for demolition was converted into a series of installations. I like the idea of taking mundane man-made structures and transforming them.
Whose work would you hang on your wall?
My favourite illustrators are Thomas Hicks, Mathew Richardson and Polly Becker. I suppose the mixture of different media in their work is what appeals to me. There are artists and photographers Edward Burtynsky and Gordon Matta Clark
Which galleries and museums do you frequent?
I like visiting Natural History Museum and especially enjoy the wildlife photographer or the year award annual exhibition. I also like Pollock's Toy Museum, it's such a wonderfully quirky little place and the V&A is always good for drawing.
Clearly you’re finding success as an illustrator – what’s happening workwise right now, and what does the future hold for Aine Cassidy?
I've been getting a lot of design work recently now but am keen to pursue more illustration based commissions. I enjoy working in a multi-disciplinary way and hope to continue to do that. I also try to maintain my own artistic practice away from commercial work though sometimes it's hard to find time for everything. The challenge is to find the balance between the work I really want to do and work which pays the bills!
Finally, what are your contact details?
www.ainecassidy.com
Aine, thank you for sharing your work - all the best for your future projects.
