Interview with Pav Szymanski
I am a fine art painter and video artist with 30 years of experience. My current research project is based on creating visual responses to my observations of people, who are suspended in the vacuum of hypnotic repetition. I have travelled the world interviewing and recording individuals who genuinely struggle with their existence in the context of their survival. I have gathered substantial primary sources and evidence from destinations across the globe. Perhaps, the most significant research findings were from Haiti and Myanmar and resulted in producing the most spectacular paintings. They have inspired me to develop new and innovative ways of working and experimenting with image-making, which are appropriate to the subject. They combine the best of traditional achievements and the power of contemporary thinking and deep reflection.
I work full-time as a programme coordinator for Art & Design at a large institution offering a broad range of Further and Higher Education qualifications. I am also an external examiner for the University of The Arts, London and the Academic Qualifications Alliance.
I have just been awarded the International Vision Collector’s and Power of Creativity Awards by the Contemporary Art Curator Magazine.
Can you tell us about the moment you decided to pursue a career as an artist?
My initial fascinations with the arts, literature and music started to evolve at school.
I spent my free time learning to draw from observation and exploring a range of painting techniques. I read a lot about artists and famous musicians. I was intrigued by their complicated and dramatic lives, and amazing artistic achievements. I started to feel that I also had something to say. It became apparent that I wanted to visualise and express my inner dreams, longings and fears.
What kind of an artist do you ultimately see yourself?
I am a fine art painter with some interest in print, video and digital work. I frequently use mixed media and integrate a range of visual languages together in the interest of experimentation, originality and inventiveness. I started showing passion for art and culture during my teens and progressed to study Painting, and then, Fine Art Digital at Postgraduate level. I have spent my life travelling in order to gather valuable insights into the human condition as well as our common predicaments. My most recent work looks also at coping mechanisms and how suspension in the vacuum of hypnotic repetition can help us to deal with ever-growing sense of pointlessness of existence.
What do you want your art to convey to the people who see it? What is the meaning or creative motivation behind your work?
My current research project is based on trying to analyse and interpret my observations of people and reality of their being. My work is an attempt to develop and refine my responses to the human condition in the context of the broader contexts. I try to question and communicate my subjective interpretation of the world. My art should be seen as comments and sensitive reflections on the dynamics within turbulent and ever-changing contemporary society.
Can you tell us about the process you use to create your works? What is your typical workday routine?
I start with establishing and refining a concept for each piece. This makes my work very personal and subjected to several ethical considerations. After all, I paint real people with challenging lives, full of feelings and emotions. My key creative intention is not to paint their superficial and obvious conditions, but to go deeper and focus on their strength, positivity and optimism. I start with an under-image and frequently progress to alternating layers of painting and printmaking.
I genuinely struggle to juggle my professional commitments with my need to create to satisfy my hunger, desires and ambitions.
Where do you find inspiration? What motivates you to create?
I am particularly interested in exploring people, who are suspended in the vacuum of hypnotic repetition. I am intrigued by a variety of predicaments and uncertainty, which impact on the human condition. My work is an attempt to reflect on how, despite their challenging existence, people maintain their drive and motivation to persevere.
What has been your most outstanding achievement to date?
Travelling, researching and painting people from the most distant parts of the world. My observations and experiences have definitively led to my personal and professional growth and development, and resulted in the evolution and formation of a more sensitive ‘self’.
What are your ultimate career goals?
I would like to continue with my practice and research into hypnotic repetition. As always, I am open to meeting people in a hope to learn from them about their ways of dealing with uncertainties of tomorrow, inner anxieties and worries. I want to further explore the human condition with all its characteristics that compose the complexity of our existence.
What are you working on now, and what can we expect from you soon?
I have just returned from my recent 6-week expedition to West Africa, where I gathered plenty of exciting ideas and materials for a range of new paintings. Perhaps, my most significant and dramatic research findings come from recording people in Guinea Bissau and western areas of the Casamance region in South Senegal.
My plan is to juxtaposition these sources with some earlier experiences in Tanzania and Zanzibar.
