JOSEFINA AYLLóN
Issa Salliander
London, UK
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London, UK
The studio of Issa Salliander resembles a loft, even though it is in fact a semi basement space, dramatically lit with industrial skylights, tucked away in the borough of Hackney. The high ceilings give her ample room to work on large-scale oil paintings for her upcoming show.
A self built storage unit that doubles as a mezzanine, constructed of recycled materials, gives the room the feeling as if we were in fact transported to a...
The studio of Issa Salliander resembles a loft, even though it is in fact a semi basement space, dramatically lit with industrial skylights, tucked away in the borough of Hackney. The high ceilings give her ample room to work on large-scale oil paintings for her upcoming show.
A self built storage unit that doubles as a mezzanine, constructed of recycled materials, gives the room the feeling as if we were in fact transported to a distant faraway place, comfortably appreciable from our lounge like seating arrangement. The stark relation to her still unfinished paintings is unmistakable, as they themselves are already capable of transporting the viewer into their own unsettled world, while immediate in technique they are both mystifying and enticing.
Issa herself is right on when she says “I like to paint large-scale paintings that make an immediate connection with the audience. Like a good old rock song, the key ingredients for my pieces are humour (subtle), feeling (good/light and evil/dark) and a sprinkle of ambiguity. The paintings should all tell a story about its subject, but not necessarily the same story to everyone. My medium is oil: it is seductive in nature and has the endurance required for extended manipulation.”
What is it about your studio space that inspires you?
The high ceilings.
What sounds, scents and sights do you encounter while in your studio?
Music can be energizing.
What is your favourite material to work with? How has your use of it evolved throughout your practice?
The finest material ever made - oil paint.
What themes do you pursue?
Identity. Dichotomies - good vs evil, light vs dark.
What advice has had the biggest impact on your career?
“White is never white” by my teacher Paul Saville
If you could install your art absolutely anywhere, where would that be?
John Fogerty’s living room would be pretty cool.
If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?
I’m living with it. ‘Run Through the Jungle(Don’t Look Back)’. I understand that I’m supposed to mention something famous, but this piece really means something to me. I feel it.
What are your favourite places besides your studio?
My bed.
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