ARIANE HUGHES

Ariane, thank you so much for taking part in this interview!

No, thank you !

SO KIND! LET'S START WITH A Quick one, what 3 words would you use to describe your artwork?

Anachronistic, melancholic, surreal(ish)

What do you believe is the most important aspect of your work? 

Process. I spend a lot of time sourcing imagery, taking photos, sketching, arranging compositions & mixing colour palettes before I pick up a paintbrush. When I (finally) start painting, again process is key. I start wet on wet, reworking until I’m satisfied with the flow of the composition and then I move onto layering. It can be painfully slow at times (watching paint dry, literally)

What memorable responses have you had to your work?

I overheard someone likening my work to that of Christian Schad. An overly generous comparison but it made me smile, as he is one of my favourite painters. 

What are you working on now?

I’m currently finishing a couple of paintings centred around figuration and the symbolism adorning wooden carved confessional booths found in Catholic churches for a show I have opening in Paris in June. Also I recently started making a body of work investigating the absurdity of language. I’m taking everyday phrases and idioms that on paper don’t make sense, yet everyone knows what they mean, & using them as titles for compositions (ie you can’t have your cake & eat it too, apple of my eye etc). 

What would be your dream project ARIANE?

I’ve always been super interested in video art. If/when I have the time, I would love to experiment with this medium. This being said, I’m entirely wedded to oil paint. I find the materiality of oils alluring and they’re extremely malleable, which is perfectly suited to my fickle eye.   

AND What is your studio like? Where do you like to create best? What are your artist necessities? What could you not live without?

I currently have a space with VO curations. They have a few floors in an office block which they have converted into studios in central London. It’s slightly strange sharing a building with real adults with proper jobs but also comforting as it gives me a pseudo sense of purpose. 

I like to work off of the wall, standing as I paint. Perfect for larger scale work whilst also allowing for the occasional dance break.

Coffee, hour long hyperpop soundcloud mixes & Michael Harding’s burnt sienna. 

Medjool dates.

What does an average working day look like to you Ariane?

Wake up, walk a couple of hours to the studio getting in around 10, stretch & prime canvases (if required) & then start painting. Have a mild existential crisis at 3pm sharp, followed by a late lunch. Continue painting until around 10 (if I’m really in the swing of things I’ll stay later, the perks of having 24hour studio access), walk home & pass out.

Who or what are your biggest influences, and how do you find them? How do these come out in your work?

I draw inspiration from a wide range of sources. I take a lot of photos. I have over 100,000 on my phone & I’m forever making folders of reference images (ie clouds, swans, hands, classical paintings, screenshots from films etc) so I have a wealth of imagery to hand. Prior to the pandemic I lived and made work in Milan for 8 months. I spent a lot of time in churches and cemeteries. This can be seen to manifest itself in the classical sculpture and architectural elements in my work.

What do you want your work to say? What are the main themes and motifs running through your work? Is there a narrative that runs throughout? 

I’m interested in challenging the rigidity of the subject/object dichotomy. Humans have the tendency to compartmentalise things (self/other, subject/object, facticity/transcendence) oversimplifying the world in an attempt to fully comprehend the nature of our existence. But personhood isn’t so tidy. The human condition brings with it a perpetual fluctuation within these faux dichotomies. This state of flux, this ambiguity is what I explore through my work. I often pose the female nude. Throughout the Canon of Western Art it personifies the subject/object dichotomy and I aim to engage with this traditional trope outside of the objectifying lens. I want to work towards conceiving of a new visual vernacular for desire. One that operates outside the norms of conventional beauty and ‘the gaze’. This is why hands and swans are also recurring motifs throughout my practice. Hands connote the tactile sense, the primary language of desire thus operating outside of the objectification of the visual. Swans symbolise love and partnership yet hold an aggressive air as they are violent birds with an imposing, phallic form.

Could you select a piece of your artwork and tell me a bit about it? 

Of course! I choose I ‘Played Myself’. This piece interrogates the faux subject object dichotomy. In the canon of Western Art the female body is aligned with the passive an object to be looked at and consumed by men. By intertwining the body with an actual piece of furniture, it provides a sardonic critique on this reductive nature of the traditional portrayal of the female nude. The inclusion of the chessboard and the hint of the red theatre curtain, connotes game playing and acting, emblematic of the performative nature of femininity. The dark palette and eerie sense of claustrophobia parallels the confining nature of the socially accepted binary gender roles.   

What is one thing people would be surprised to know about you Ariane?

The first live gig I went to was Dolly Parton playing at Wembley when I was 8 (I still listen and shamelessly sing along to her greatest hits in the studio, I will forever adore that woman)

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given, and what advice would you give?

Just keep creating / call your mum 

If you could have a meal with any artist from any time:

what would the meal be?

who would it be with?

Why?

Carolee Schneemann. Initially studying painting, Schneemann moved into performance and video work. She still considered herself a painter, just one that had enlarged her canvas to the stage, making compositions with bodies & other materials. Her work is so visceral, figurative & painterly despite its video format. I would love to pick her brains on the intersections between the two mediums and how she transitioned between them. We would eat steak tartare naked, paying homage to her seminal work, Meat Joy (a performance in which scantily clad men & women interacted with various forms of raw meat).

What is your greatest indulgence in life other than creating?

Dancing by myself in semi public spaces.

Favourite historical female artist?

Dorothea tanning 

Favourite current practicing female artists?

Off the top of my head Louisa Gagliardi, Shannon Cartier Lucy, Sarah Slappey, Emma stern & Anna Uddenberg.

Who should She Curates interview next ?

Ellen Antico, Rosanna Tutta, Grace Mattingly !