During October and November, we hosted a very special project at the Art Hostel. Working in collaboration with artist, Janine Sykes, we were lucky to put on a series of events as part of the Seeding Art Currency programme. One of these events was a guest talk with Joy Hindmoor, the artist responsible for the colourful vinyls which were on the walls of the hostel during the Seeding Art Currency residency.
We caught up with Joy to hear more about her inspirations and her work which explores natural forms, such as seeds, shells and bacteria.
Inspiration
“I have always been inspired by natural patterning within natural forms; the detail is different in every leaf, shell, bacteria and so on. Bacteria is interesting because it’s something that can grow and adapt depending on a range of factors including heat. Within my patterns I like to look at a collection of objects or shapes – this is possible with bacteria and coral. The natural forms I use are all bright and colourful, this is something which is extremely important within my patterns.
“I think my work being aesthetically pleasing is important. I feel like when creating something the aim is for it to be beautiful in one way or another. Even the creation of a piece can be beautiful, something you physically create from scratch. In a way, I suppose this makes the work you create feel like its living. Personal events or something that interests you is a form of inspiration for creating work and this is a beautiful thing within itself; something that motivates you to create something from just and idea or thought.
“Obviously, I wanted to create something that would be involved with the idea of the ‘Art Hostel’ so I wanted to use the space as much as I could. Using the vinyl allowed me to use the space around me and the space became the inspiration for my pattern. The floor, for example, has loads of interesting marks and spots of old paint on it which created a pattern of some sorts so I decided to go with this and make my pattern in random sections of the area I was presenting in.”
Creating the piece
“The starting point for this piece was partly handmade. I began to sketch and created a quick doodle of a pattern I liked and wanted to expand on. This was then scanned into Adobe Illustrator and edited so the pattern grew and the colours were added. Once this was finished, the pattern was sent to print onto vinyl and shipped.
“When I received it, I was a bit apprehensive about using it because I’ve never used vinyl before but I gave it a go and started cutting out the various sections ready to stick. I had no real plan of where to place each sticker and found myself falling into a creative meditation when fixing them to the wall so I suppose the handmade was also in the installation because that was the creation of the finished product.”
The medium
“When installing I cut and stuck the coloured vinyl pieces on to the walls but I had a lot of spare peel from the vinyl. I collected this in a pile and on reflection found it could demonstrate the contrast in living and dead coral; when a coral reef begins to die the coral changes to bleach white and becomes brittle. I thought that this could demonstrate the amount of unnecessary plastic we waste if I were to create a piece focusing on changes within the environment.
“I believe that ephemeral materials are quite important to my practice. Pattern can be adapted and changed so linking the materials to the theme is important. My piece, ‘Playful Cycle 27’ was created from wool and paper formed structures which I later removed and recycled to form another piece of work. I like to use materials which can be easily up-cycled in one way or another.
“My work clearly presents seeds portrayed through patterns and how these individually can be formed into a multiple to create a pattern. As well as this I believe that transience is also presented through the use of installation within my work. These can only be a temporary display which is soon to be removed, however this can be recycled to create a fresh piece of work in the future.”
Aspirations
“Currently, I am working as an art technician at a secondary school and I am hoping to start teaching after Easter at the school I am currently working at. In my spare time I’m constantly creating new work and being involved with various projects through East Street Arts.
“My long term aspirations are to hopefully find a studio space somewhere in Leeds where I can take time out of work and my personal life to relax and create. This is something I am still working on and hope to get soon.”
Did you hear Joy’s guest talk? What did you think? Tell us in the comment below.