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FAD Magazine covers contemporary art – News, Exhibitions and Interviews reported on from London

Cybil Scott answers FAD’s questions about her technologically inspired series of abstract works and about her upcoming exhibition ‘The Passerby’

CybilScott_DualProcessors

Dual Processors, Digital Print on Polyester Film, 2013

‘The Passerby’, opening this Thursday 3rd of October in Hackney Wick’s Stour Space, will feature works by London based artists Sana Khan and Cybil Scott, where collectively their idiosyncratic work  touches on the ephemarility of time and our futile attempt to capture it. Recently, Scott sat down with FAD to answer some questions concerning both the process and production behind her work, allowing for a unique glimpse into the mind of an artist who is deeply inspired by the symbiotic connections between the intriguing scientific world and the engaging aesthetic art realm.

1.  If you were not an artist would else would you be?

A surgeon. I am incredibly precise and particular in a lot of ways in my artistic practice. I am particular with my tools, whether they are physical or virtual, and I like to take things apart and dissect old technology

2. Can you tell us more about your work and what are the main ideas you would like to express?

I am quite interested in biological and artificial systems and how they intersect each other. To me, it is man’s ultimate goal to make things work as well as nature already does. I think its because of my background in biology that I take this perspective with my artwork.

3. How do you start the process of making your work?

I really just start by closely investigating things that intrigue me. I let my subconscious do the talking, and after getting into the research I pull out the ideas I need to make work from.

DEC 1984 - Copy

DEC 1984, Digital Print on Polyester Film, 2013

4. Do you consider the viewer when making your work?

Yes and no. At first I want it to be genuinely interesting to only me, and I will stop working on it if I get bored. After a certain point, I try to contextualize the viewer by objectification. In the end, I want to make art that makes you think, not art that thinks for you!

5. Name 3 artists that have inspired your work?

Mark Leckey, Roger Hiorns, Hieronymus Bosch (That’s an old one right there!)

hieronymus_bosch_garden_of_earthly_delights_tryptich_centre_panel_-_detail_9

Hieronymus Bosch, Vanity (from Garden of earthly Delights), c.1550

6. What defines something as a work of art for you?

I’m still trying to figure it out! I think it has to make you aware of something you were previously not aware of which affects you deeply, or differently every time you see it…if that makes sense!

7. Anytime, anyplace- which artist’s body would you most like to inhabit?

Leonardo Da Vinci. He was amazing at so many things! I feel that contemporary artists have many different skill sets and interests due to the information we are exposed to. Leonardo’s curious observations were really ahead of his time.

8. Which artist would you most like to rip off, sorry, I mean appropriate as a critique of originality and authorship?

Trisha Baga. Her image installation/projections are fantastic! I’m jealous of how easy she makes it look, but its really brilliant.

9. What is the funniest thing someone has said about your work?

I think that one has definitely come from my mom. She told me some of my etchings looked like pubic hair. She might be right though.

CybilScott_Ca-usisMachine

 Ca//us Is Machine, Digital Print on Polyester Film, 2013

10. Do you care what your art costs? State your reasons!

Yes of course. If it has a price in the first place, that means I need to live from its sale in order to make more!

11. How did you meet Sana Khan and how do you think your work connects to one another?

I met Sana through a friend and then never thought we would cross paths again, until I responded to a photography listing for help on arts hub, and it turned out to be Sana! Oh the art world, how small it is.

I think the driving force behind creativity is the promise of eventual demise, and it is in the face of this that we keep creating. I think both our works touch on this, Sana takes a darker approach, and I am really interested in biological systems which eventually expire, encouraging us to artificially improve them. Humans use our most advanced technology for prolonging life, and for ending it. While our work is not about this specifically, its all part of a larger meaning, and one that is temporary at the same time.

12. What’s next for you?

The sky is the limit as long as I have an internet connection…

CybilScott_Interface

Interface, digital print on polyester film, 2013

Check out ‘The Passerby‘  opening this Thursday @ Stour Space in Hackney Wick where her work will also be featured with riveting photographs produced by Pakistani artist Sana Khan.

To see more of Cybil’s work go: HERE

To see an interview with Sana Khan go: HERE

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