Urban Art Association

Exclusive A.CE London and Joe Webb 2 in 1 Hang-Up Interview, by HangUp on Aug 17, 2014 14:45:36 GMT 1, This week saw the launch of a new series - 'Hang-Up Collections- Volume 1', using a slightly unconventional approach to the traditional exhibition format.

We have let two of the participating artists - A.CE London and Joe Webb to have a say on how they find the concept and what the challenges are, to be part of such a diverse collection. 
Here is a snippet of the blitz exclusive interview


In conversation with A.CE London

You have been putting work on the streets and walls of London for more than 10 years now. Tell us a bit more about how skateboarding, Dada and Pop collided in one to become an inspiration for a full-time artist career?

A.CE:
These were and still are major influences in my life – powerful and inspirational in equal measure, they really resonated with me when I first discovered them. It all started with skateboarding, this came first and was my identity for years. It was my outlet. I guess this just evolved into becoming an artist, there’s just so much natural cross over and exposure to things that run in parallel. Skating is artistic. It’s creative, individual and fluid. This quickly evolved into dabbling with graffiti, which I soon moved beyond, to find other ways to express myself / life /whatever. You view and respond to your surroundings in a certain way as a skater and that stays with you. It’s stayed with me and I apply my art to my surroundings in the same way. The street is a skate spot or a gallery space depending on how you interpret it. Skate graphics, punk art, zine art, Pop Art, Dadaism, graphic design and graffiti all influenced my style and skateboarding influenced the application.

Your pieces in Hang-Up Collections - what is the story behind them? Do they really differ from the work you put on the streets?

A.CE: 
These are amongst the largest pieces I’ve made. One is a large scale rendition of a personal favourite piece of mine. They’re all produced by me in my little studio in North London. Like all my works, they originate from and represent an exploration through found imagery that I’ve gathered over time. As I play around and experiment with constant manipulation, selection and rejection of layers I’m conscious of the choices I’m making along the way, slotting things into what feels like a natural place until I arrive at a whole new narrative or commentary on the original fragments. These works are the outcomes or image remixes and I’m always more excited than anyone to see the finished piece, which is never really completely finished, plus it’s just one particular arrangement out of an infinite number of potential arrangements! Approaching all my work in this way means the fundamental foundations of the works I put up in the street and the works I exhibit in the gallery are in tune with each other.
Below: Polka Duck, A.CE, 2014. Hang-Up Collections- Volume 1.



In conversation with Joe Webb

You are known for your intricate hand-cut surreal collages, inspired by vintage imagery and the Pop Art movement. Your involvement in Hang-Up Collections, however, is a new step and direction in your artistic pursuit. Tell us more about it.

Joe:
The exhibition is a good opportunity to give a flavour of the new ideas I’ve been working on in my studio over the past few months. I’ve been experimenting with painting with screen printing, using metallic type inks and unusual papers. I’m looking at ways of exploring the ideas within the original collages but at a larger scale, but in a way that’s not just making reproductions. I want the works to be sensitive to the materials I’m working in. If it's paint rather than magazine imagery I want it to look like paint. I want the work to be a response to the materials as well as the idea.
The Great Indoors, Joe Webb, 2014. Hang-Up Collections -Volume 1.



How do you find the concept of the Collections?

Joe: It’ll be great to see to see all of the Hang Up artists in a real space rather than just online. I’m sure it will give visitors a better understanding of who the gallery represents and what it is about. It’ll be fun to see the different works alongside each other, it’s all quite eclectic but somehow works together I think.

See what else A.CE and Joe have to say on our blog here:
hanguppictures.com/blog-post/hang-up-collections-through-the-eyes-of-a-ce-london-and-joe-webb


 

This week saw the launch of a new series - 'Hang-Up Collections- Volume 1', using a slightly unconventional approach to the traditional exhibition format.

We have let two of the participating artists - A.CE London and Joe Webb to have a say on how they find the concept and what the challenges are, to be part of such a diverse collection. 
Here is a snippet of the blitz exclusive interview


In conversation with A.CE London

You have been putting work on the streets and walls of London for more than 10 years now. Tell us a bit more about how skateboarding, Dada and Pop collided in one to become an inspiration for a full-time artist career?

A.CE:
These were and still are major influences in my life – powerful and inspirational in equal measure, they really resonated with me when I first discovered them. It all started with skateboarding, this came first and was my identity for years. It was my outlet. I guess this just evolved into becoming an artist, there’s just so much natural cross over and exposure to things that run in parallel. Skating is artistic. It’s creative, individual and fluid. This quickly evolved into dabbling with graffiti, which I soon moved beyond, to find other ways to express myself / life /whatever. You view and respond to your surroundings in a certain way as a skater and that stays with you. It’s stayed with me and I apply my art to my surroundings in the same way. The street is a skate spot or a gallery space depending on how you interpret it. Skate graphics, punk art, zine art, Pop Art, Dadaism, graphic design and graffiti all influenced my style and skateboarding influenced the application.

Your pieces in Hang-Up Collections - what is the story behind them? Do they really differ from the work you put on the streets?

A.CE: 
These are amongst the largest pieces I’ve made. One is a large scale rendition of a personal favourite piece of mine. They’re all produced by me in my little studio in North London. Like all my works, they originate from and represent an exploration through found imagery that I’ve gathered over time. As I play around and experiment with constant manipulation, selection and rejection of layers I’m conscious of the choices I’m making along the way, slotting things into what feels like a natural place until I arrive at a whole new narrative or commentary on the original fragments. These works are the outcomes or image remixes and I’m always more excited than anyone to see the finished piece, which is never really completely finished, plus it’s just one particular arrangement out of an infinite number of potential arrangements! Approaching all my work in this way means the fundamental foundations of the works I put up in the street and the works I exhibit in the gallery are in tune with each other.
Below: Polka Duck, A.CE, 2014. Hang-Up Collections- Volume 1.



In conversation with Joe Webb

You are known for your intricate hand-cut surreal collages, inspired by vintage imagery and the Pop Art movement. Your involvement in Hang-Up Collections, however, is a new step and direction in your artistic pursuit. Tell us more about it.

Joe:
The exhibition is a good opportunity to give a flavour of the new ideas I’ve been working on in my studio over the past few months. I’ve been experimenting with painting with screen printing, using metallic type inks and unusual papers. I’m looking at ways of exploring the ideas within the original collages but at a larger scale, but in a way that’s not just making reproductions. I want the works to be sensitive to the materials I’m working in. If it's paint rather than magazine imagery I want it to look like paint. I want the work to be a response to the materials as well as the idea.
The Great Indoors, Joe Webb, 2014. Hang-Up Collections -Volume 1.



How do you find the concept of the Collections?

Joe: It’ll be great to see to see all of the Hang Up artists in a real space rather than just online. I’m sure it will give visitors a better understanding of who the gallery represents and what it is about. It’ll be fun to see the different works alongside each other, it’s all quite eclectic but somehow works together I think.

See what else A.CE and Joe have to say on our blog here:
hanguppictures.com/blog-post/hang-up-collections-through-the-eyes-of-a-ce-london-and-joe-webb