So very often, the inception of love in an individuals life is noted only by inner reflection, and the desire to recognise a continual feeling of passionate warmth emanating from within. For an artist, the beginnings of a life long affair of the heart with their own creativity often takes them by surprise – too late realising they they have already plunged deep down within the rabbit hole, with no remit nor recourse for extraction.

Having picked up the art of stencilling in her formative years, 23rd Keys later realised that those skills she began investing as a teenager had turned into a wistful affair of the heart – a realisation, and resonance within, that we believe to be one of the quintessential characteristics of an artistic soul.

As her first solo show at Melbourne Rancho Notorious fast approaches, we managed to catch up with 23rd Key to ask her about her work, and the ideals and thoughts behind it. As she began to explain the detailed nuances, evocative subject matter and explorations of organic style and values, we discovered that 23rd Key is very much an artist who has fully embraced the true love of a cutting blade …

You started working with stencils around the time that stencil art in Melbourne was booming, was that a influence on starting to do your work, or had you been working towards it for some time?

I learned how to make stencils when I was in year 10, at High School. Mainly because I was taking up art again after I’d dropped it as a subject, and I wanted something that I could utilise to make art for my projects.

I’m only 23 now, so I’d sort of grown up seeing stencil art around the city and knowing what it was – I didn’t realise when I first started doing it that it would turn out to be something I would pursue beyond high school, and kind of fall in love with.

You have a background in traditional printmaking and design, how have these skills contributed to the directions that you take with your stencil work?

I think most artists take what they learn and bring it to their art form in different ways. I had to take a photography class as part of my design course which lead to me taking more of my own photos and using them to create stencil works. I’d taken my own photos before then, but learning more about photography and how to take good photos definitely helped me.

Can you tell us a bit about the different directions you are taking
lately? we have seen that you are working with photography etc, how does this play into your overall body of work?

Taking my own photos has definitely meant having more control over the direction my work is taking. I have a lot more control over my process from start to finish and can therefore get the final product even closer to how I want it to look. It’s been great to learn so much about an art form different to stencil art, not just because it’s helped me develop my style further but it’s been refreshing having another creative outlet.

 
“Organic art” is also mentioned, what is your definition of organic
art, and how does the term contribute to your working process? We have seen mention of “cutting into the original piece” can you describe this process a little more?

I usually cut into paper based stock to create my stencils and not acetate. The use of the word organic derives from that slightly and the fact that I’m taking the works I’ve created, manipulated them and peeled them to create something else. The work comes to life more, and ‘organic’ seemed to be one of the best ways to describe that process. I’ve really only just begun to scratch the surface of the idea behind the works I have that peel. The process is pretty much my way of making a 2D work grow and become more interesting by adding that 3D element, which I do by cutting into the paper stock I’ve painted on, and peeling it, or layering it with other works.

Are there any particular motifs that you enjoy exploring with your
pieces, and if so, why? What are some of the influences that play
decided roles in your work?

I really like to keep busy, I find I get most of my ideas when I barely have time to think. Every day life is the biggest influence in my work, I don’t think there’s anything static that’s pushing me in a certain direction creatively. I guess you could say that the peeling works I’m creating lately are starting to explore a certain theme and could develop into a reoccurring motif in future. However, I see it more like something that I have running alongside what I’ve always done.

Tell us a little about your upcoming show, and what you’re preparing for it – is it a themed show or will it be more of a showcase of your work up til now?

I’d say it’s a showcase of my work up till now, but at the same time, starting to explore a theme in my peeling works. Being my first show I wanted to have a good platform to start at and build upon. It’s really the beginning of what I’m hoping will be a long and fruitful relationship. A large portion of the works that will be exhibited, I have created this year in preparation for the show. So, I think it shows a good progression of my work to date and a hopefully a bit of where I’m going to go from here.

The title of the show is also quite intriguing – “Skills to pay the
bills” – as a working artist, how does this financial aspect play into
your work, and, what are your views on the whole “pay the bills”
aspect of being an artist?

The title is meant to be pretty ironic really. Being an artist doesn’t make me enough money to live off, at least not at this stage. I think the amount of money it costs to put on a show is often overlooked.

I’m not an artist out of a conscious choice, I do it because I just always have – I think all artists are like that.

The piece that you are using to promote your upcoming show is
portraiture, revealing a skull beneath – what is it about these forms
of images that you enjoy exploring?

I really just got the idea when I was trying to think of new ways to do what I’ve always done. I had a skate deck given to me a year or so ago that lead to me creating the work ‘Grind on my Face’, the idea for the piece purely came out of the fact that I had the deck lying around and I wanted something clever to put on it.

My idea behind the portrait and skull was that it would be really cool to incorporate the act of stencilling into the final product of my work. By that I mean, by cutting into the art work once it’s finished and not just using the cutting process to create the stencils themselves. I love that this means I can layer works and make them more interactive, it’s been a really fun process to explore.

Where do you see yourself, and your art, in five years time? what
projects would you like to work on, and what else can people expect to see from you in the future?

I’m planning a three month trip to America early next year, and I’ll definitely be taking heaps of photos while I’m over there. When I get back I’ll be working like crazy and hopefully towards another show in the next year or two. I definitely want to take the idea of my peeling works further and explore that as much as I can. Either way I’m pretty excited about the future, this really just feels like the beginning …

Check out details on 23rd Keys upcoming show, Skills To Pay The Bills, as well as her Devart page and profile on the Just Another Agency website.