by Amy Barrett
I had the honour of interviewing British artist, Samuel Zealey, whose thoughts, beliefs and artistic talent totally blew my mind.
I must say congratulations on your exhibition at the Cobb Gallery in Camden ‘Planes’
I will start my questions off with:
Q – Why Planes?
A – Around 8 months ago I started configuring out of paper different ways on how to fold paper which eventually turned into steal.
I got really interested.
It was actually a drawing I was developing, I got really irritated with the drawing so I ripped it out of my note pad and crumpled it up, it reflected to me an artist called Martin Reed who made this piece of artwork which was literally a crumpled up piece of paper.
I thought to myself, it’s art, which it is, so I thought about taking things a next step further to make that crumpled up piece of paper into steal; that would be something interesting.
Transforming something, such as paper, into a hard material and a structural material and crumpling it into something is the way forward.
That was the first idea, to form a piece of paper into steal. Then I started to work with geometric shapes. so just folding paper. I also started playing around with paper, making airplanes to see what would work best. It would be the ‘launching pad’ of Planes.
Seeing how that can be translated into heavier and industrial material such as your steals, ferrous and non-ferrous materials.
Q – What would you say your goals are in life?
A- The Turner Prize would have to be one of them but also for people to understand my ideas and to recognising why I have designed my sculptures the way I have. Also, to see my sculptures in the Fourth Plinth and the Tate Modern.
Q – How do you relax and unwind?
A – I meditate every morning for 20 minutes with transcendental flat platter meditation it helps me to clear my mind and to also function as an individual. It doesn’t matter if I’m in the studio, at home, or with friends, my mind never turns off.
Q – What do you like to do in your spare time?
A – I like to socialise with friends, I’m a people person and get a lot of enjoyment from talking and listening to people. I also enjoy sport such as cricket, watching my supported team, Arsenal, plus going to museums and art galleries.
Q – Are you more focusing on your career rather than your love life at the moment?
A- I am completely, I came out of a pretty serious relationship around a year ago and from the past year I used that as an opportunity to concentrate on bringing all my ideas together. I am at the point in my life where I need to push the practice as hard as possible and into the spot light. I want to see it under and after that I can start concentrating on my personal life.
Q – If you could choose an art gallery anywhere in the world to showcase your pieces where would it be?
A – Hauser and Wirth, absolutely love that gallery, blinding space its incredible.
Q – Are there any charities you support?
A – My main passion in life is the environment, so organisations such as Peta and Green Peace very much appeal to me.
Q – Do you have a three year plan?
A – Yes, I do have a three year plan, last year was to find a workspace and to organise it so everything I need is under one roof, this year being year two was to get my sculptures into an art gallery like I have done this year at the Cobb gallery in Camden. Next year is to develop my sculptures and put them into form.
People can relate to Samuel Zealey’s ideas and sculptures.
You will be able to see Samuel Zealey’s sculpture called ‘Onyo’ outside Bracknell train station in Berkshire. His sculpture has a profound twist on the game Jenga; the bricks are made up of different material such as granite. The ‘Onyo’ consists of materials such as cooper, bronze, iron-ages, aluminium, stainless steel and mirrored stainless steel.
Quick background;
Samuel Zealey was born in Dulwich London in 1986; Samuel has attended The Royal College of Art, Wimbledon College of Art and Thurrock and Basildon College.
Links: twitter – @samuelzealey
email – [email protected]
