TAYLER FISHER'S SENSORY OVERLOAD AESTHETIC
A Window to Reality #003 featured Tayler Fisher with a dub infused, mixed media performance. After the performance we sat down to discuss the project…
THE INTERVIEW
How do you feel about the project so far?
It's good. Different. It's good for me as well. I recently joined with new studio space & my work has changed a lot since I've been there over a few months.
I've developed a lot - but now I feel like I'm at a point here where I know what it is, I know what the language of it is. So it's good to have the challenge of doing something different. I've now got to apply what I've been figuring out so far...
I've heard you work with soundscapes & music? ( ~2.45 mins )
Sound has always been a big element there. For me it's working on these things its never just one things, there's always the influence of all the stuff around it- it's never just the painting or sculpture. So In the past - working for my degree show, I was messing on the side.
Do you start with the sound first or the visual art first? ( ~3:40 mins )
I think it depends what it is - a lot of the time I'm visually based - that might give me an idea to do a sound thing - once I've got into that realm of the soundscapes- then the sounds start themselves. To add to what I was saying - it's all about building the bigger world around the work - bigger soundscape and a bigger landscape. it's not just about the figures or the subject that's are in the work - it's about the bigger world that's been put across.
Tell us about your new studio space? (~1min)
I'm at Modern painters, New Decorators - it's in ( Loughborough ) town They've setup a gallery space and now there's studio space upstairs.
You mentioned that your studio has changed your practice, what do you think has happened since you've started there? ( ~1.5 min )
I thought I was working one way during my degree - for a long while. I felt that my work started to become a bit stagnant and didn't have the best studio setup - as a result my practice slowed down a little bit. So then when it came to sorting out a studio space with MPND - it became a good opportunity to try out these new ideas I've had floating around in my sketchbook. But the biggest thing has been colour. I've not really used much colour in the past - and now its all really deliberately contrasting colours. Trying to channel this really borderline - sensory overload aesthetic.
So you've got 4 hours to do an installation right here - you've got limited time - how do you feel about the space or time constraints? ( ~5mins )
Initially I was worried - because working with paint - you've got to think about drying times. Usually in the studio you've got big times between making things. I gave it some thought and in my studio. A lot of the time I'm working on paper, sometimes I work straight onto the canvas. I think I'm going to approach this - making different elements and bringing it all together.
Is there an element of free-styling or improvisation? Or do you know exactly what you're going to do on the day? ( ~5.45 mins )
Usually I'll have sketched and plans and sometimes those are looser than others. I got into the work knowing roughly what I'm going to do. So I might get some stencils made for it or I might get some source imagery ready. But once the work is ready to be made.
Does music always accompany you when you're working? ( ~6.5 mins )
I can't work in the quiet. In the studio I've got the record player setup. I've got some of my records there that I try not to chuck paint on! Party because i like the music, part of it is - silence is killer!
You're a traditional artist, how do you feel about the use of modern tech, in this case augmented reality to give the user the chance to rewatch the performance. How does that sit with you as a traditional artist? ( ~8mins )
A lot of the time I'm using a computer - photoshop - making edits of stuff, I've started making a lot of stencils of my work - I've been using a laser cuter to cut some complex stencils. There's an element of when the software it's a bit old - or the laser cutter changes the shape of things- theres some small nuances to it.
I'm always including more digital / tech stuff into the work, that feeds into it. We've talked about sound already..... Especially when we're talking about AR - involving the viewing - that sort of thing - I think in times like today, where mobile phones are at the end of everyones arm - Constantly - Instagram is way more important than it's ever been. Sometimes it's difficult to get the everyday person that isn't usually interested art - sometimes difficult to bridge that gap. But if you can almost approach them on their turf - So if they see something like this, they know they've got their phone, they know they can engage with it, gives them a reason to look at it and interact with it.
That's one of the concepts for AWTR - it presents artwork on the streets & high street and we're trying to get involvement from people that aren't usually interested in art. Everyone is using the tech nowadays - so for anyone to pick up a phone and interact with the art is interesting. in terms of the performance- do you think you're going to be treating it differently from a normal piece? (10 mins )
Usually - I'd just show the finished thing. Usually performance isn't really an important part of my practice. I've thought of the way that I work in my studio and how I could apply that as a visual element. A lot of the time when I'm painting I'm using printing techniques & using other bits of paper - which I'll then add to the canvas on the board. So, in this project, it turns what is usually only seen in a private studio / work in progress into something that people can engage with... So yeah, it should work.
Window to reality, using empty shops on hight street, to give artists the opportunity to display their work publicly, in an effort to show something different - any comments ( ~12 min )
I've never known Loughborough to have so so many empty units. Which, is a shame. I think a lot of that is a symptom of the times we're in. A lit of the time, people are held behind super high fees that landlords want to charge - because for the longest time, they could charge them.
I makes it hard for anyone to jump in, open a small shop. Obviously as this project shows, it offers up an opportunity to do something with those spaces. It's nice that you can use a town centre in a different way. Doesn't have to just be about reality or shopping .
In one sense, it's a shame that there's a lot of empty shop fronts, in another - it could be an opportunity - it could be good thing - as the project is trying to do.
if your work could say something to someone that isn't familiar with the arts, what would you like it to say? ( 13.20 mins )
A lot of the time - my work is trying to take current, personal things & extrapolating.... a lot of the time it's commenting on some of these things that I've mentioned - like empty shop fronts being a symptom of the time. Sometimes my work is trying to be a confrontation to these things - or a way for me to personally work these things out.
https://taylerfisher.com/
“Out of that, these soundscapes started to emerge. I though it could be a good accompaniment to the other work I was making and that turned into a bigger thing...”
