KEZIA DAVIES TALKS TO ART AWARDS FINALIST VANJA KARAS
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Tell us a bit about yourself and your practice.
My artistic practice in the broadest terms explores the nature of transience and impermanence as the core of our existence but also the cyclic conception of time and its broad recurrent patterns. Ultimately my work is attempting to depict the cyclical nature of something that is forever different but ultimately always the same, this particularly applies to human nature. In my practice I work in space, in print and on screen.
What made you decide to apply for this year’s Winter Pride Art Awards?
I have been very lucky and priviliged to be selected as one of the finalists of the inaugural Winter Pride Art Awards. I feel that as an artist it is important to support and be part of high profile initiatives like this which challenge perceptions, raise awareness and open discussions on bigger issues and ideas.
Why do you think it’s important that art is used to open up the discussion around LGBT+ issues and how do you think your practice interacts with these issues?
Art by default creates encounters which can open debates and change the way we think, the way we look at things and the way we see things. I am aware that my art may not change the society overall but it can certainly influence it on some level. By giving a voice, channeling ideas, opening discussions, opening up the minds and by raising awareness to a bigger spectrum of people.
This is why I feel that as an artist, particularly as an artist who is not part of the LGBT+ community, it is important to be part of artistic endeavours which may be used to open discussions about bigger issues, as it often requires more than one artwork and more than one artist to start this discussion and this is why it is important to have artists from all backgrounds as part of a bigger platform, group, initiative and movement such as the Emerald Winter Pride Art Awards to come together behind an idea or a cause to make a greater impact.
Can you tell us a little about the piece you’re exhibiting in reference to this year’s theme of ‘Beyond the Binaries’?
To me the term binary is primarily a mathematical or a scientific term and I am sure that in certain domains things can be denoted to ones and zeros. However in life like in art everything is more layered and complex, and even a monochrome pallet is about the shades of grey and all that lies in between.
My piece The Man Who Fell to Earth is a still life vanitas inspired by the old masters and it touches on some universal ideas by primarily exploring the aesthetic and philosophical themes around the transience of life and the inevitability of change.
But also through the sybolism of flowers it touches upon so many of the bigger themes which resonate with all of us such as: beauty, love, desire, forgiveness, remembering the forsaken, prayer, encouragement, sacrifice, justice, new beginnings, wisdom, respect, devotion, affection, pride, thoughtfulness, remembrance, pleasure, magnificence and lust for life to name a few…
Winter Pride Art Awards 