Interview | Julia Agnes

Huh. That’s incredible. To be honest, I’m not sure, because when I’m making them, they are all absorbing…. So wait I take that back. Yes. Because if I stop to reflect in the absence of sound, noise, distraction, it absolutely is. Which is curious because as an audiophile myself, I deeply value particular soundscapes. When I’m working, I lose all sense my surroundings and of time. I’ll forget about the brew losing its heat on my desk, unknowingly have the same song on loop for six hours. My dogs or a friend calling is usually what snaps me out of it and it’s always a bit of a jolt to the system. Recently a friend told me she always knows when I’m working because I go radio silent, whereas I’m usually quite communicative. There is truly nothing else for that moment in time. I’ve never heard of anyone else finding that when seeing them though. It’s so curious, and delightful to hear that upon seeing them, someone can experience what I do when I’m creative. The only time I have that otherwise is diving into a good book.

Can you tell me something about the mixed media artworks? Do you always start from ceramic or do you use another material as a base?

Ceramic is my first love. These days however I’m mainly working with polymer, wood, fabrics and wool. I find these materials lend their versatility to making some of my more realistic pieces possible. I do always come back to clay for a good head cleansing though.

Throw me for a moment in your production process. How do you usually start? Do you basically draw your sketches on paper or do you start from somewhere else?

It’s all in my brain, all the time. Along with an ocean of miscellaneous questions, facts and overthinking. I tend to start with a feeling or a mental picture and build from there. Often these ideas come out of an interaction or a though snippet and then there’s just a moment where I can see the piece clearly and it sticks. I will occasionally draw them out when I know that there will be a pause on being able to create. If I have to work on something else, or, for example, I had an injury this summer which left me with my wrist in a cast for nearly three months, and that’s when it truly became necessary to put things down on paper. I did draw almost incessantly when I was younger, but somehow the structure of university stemmed that. It’s something I should think about doing more of, really.

How long it usually takes between the original idea and its realization with ceramics or mixed media?

It depends on the idea, and how long it needs to percolate, and if I’m working on another piece at the time. If I have a clear workspace, it can take me virtually no time at all from concept to the start of a new piece. I’m no stranger to just getting up in the middle of the night because something needs to be done and getting started. Practically speaking, once started, the making of a piece is usually anywhere between a couple of weeks to a month or two.

The level of details finishing is monstrous, I especially think of the creation of “Deep Sleep”, how do you manage to shape all the smallest wrinkles and textured skin?

It’s funny you should ask that because I never feel like I’ve done enough. It comes out of the piece, it’s just there. I can’t explain that one.

Well, the result is super, and I’m curious not only about the technical aspect, I mean, do you think that your productive effort is part of the artwork itself? I mean, it’s just an aesthetic choice or do you think details are necessary to convey a message?

Thank you, but to be honest, I rarely think about the message until after the work is well under way. That’s when I start to contemplate where the piece is coming from, what the root of it is. It’s quite cathartic in its own way. The productive effort is absolutely part of the work. It’s intrinsic to it being a wholeness, complete, because working through the details bring out the story of that character.

What is the need for you to work on a small-medium scale, have you ever tried or thought about creating life-size figures?

I do have it on the brain to work larger. However, at the moment, the scale is partly a practicality and partly because of the sense of urgency that I have when it comes to creating a work once the idea has formed. At this point in time, I still have a limited workspace, so I’m a bit like a goldfish, growing to the space of my surroundings. I’m not sure that I would go bigger than life sized though, as I feel like none of these characters are larger than life, and that is more than enough to tell their story.

Tell me something about your initial approach, what was the emotional urgency that prompted you to create the first pieces?

I’ve always done art; it’s just been part of my fabric. It’s always been an outlet in one form or another. For how the more realistic pieces started…I’m not fully ready to discuss this yet, but I think it started from coming to terms with grief, the loss of a family member, and by default, the family, biologically anyway. It made me contemplate the role and relationship of the female figures in my life, and the experiences they each brought to the table and at times how self-effacing, or quieted those experience and people can be, particularly as we grow older. Once that idea fully sprouted, it took on a life of its own.

And now what do you think is the main engine of your artistic activity, what is the biggest thrust in your artistic process?

There’s simply no going back. It’s uncorked, it’s out. I can’t bottle it back up, so it keeps pouring.

Your production in 2021 has been truly remarkable, I do not think everyone understands how challenging would be to devote himself entirely to sculpting. How do you spend your days? There have been days off in recent times?

Man, I wish I could devote myself entirely to sculpting, and photography, is also a great passion, but I do work a day job. I don’t have a financial backer or representation… yet. Though the work is getting out there and growing in momentum, which is as astonishing as it is bewildering. The art comes in my free time, at night as I’m a bit of a night owl as well so keep odd hour. I’m lucky to have such a wonderful community because it’s not uncharacteristic for me to say, ‘I desperately want to spend time with you, come over, maybe bring a book in case I get lost in this piece, by the way here’s some wine and all the food a polish girl can muster’. Otherwise, I would become a sporadic hermit. I used to put the artwork aside, but somehow, increasingly so, that’s no longer an option.

How do you organize your working week? Do you have fixed days for new ideas, others for sculpting process, others for promotion … or don’t you follow a pre- established schedule?

I despise scheduling, routine in general, but I do it. My art practice is anywhere from 10 to 40 hours a week. I usually have one, but more often two, evenings which are entirely devoted to artwork, and usually a weekend day as well, though I do occasionally have to take a day to do nothing and reset. I very much struggle with promotion. It’s not something that comes naturally, and I do have to get out of my shell on that front. I do promotion when I feel I have something I’m comfortable showing to the world.

Most of the artists claim to be original, saying something new or better than others. But looking at the infinite artistic production achieved so far is very hard not to find something mentioned earlier. I know it’s hard to admit, but if you had to choose one artist or an artistic movement, of who would you say, “Well, I took something from him/her, I’m in debit with him/her”?

How much is hard for you to promote your work? I mean, do you have a good relationship with the social media and the promotion of your works online, or is it something you consider necessary but it doesn’t convince you at all?

It’s hard. I’m learning. My process is ugly and insecure but getting better. It’s being a steep curve because I prefer to be fiercely private, and I used to balk at explaining my work. I find it to be an excruciatingly vulnerable experience. At first, I tried to everything at once, insta, twitter, my website, online art platforms, but I’ve had to pair it down to conserve my sanity. At the moment I mainly use Instagram, and my website. There’s a wonderful community on Instagram which has helped my work take off, connect with art spaces and curators, as well as just all-around wonderful people. I was pleasantly surprised to find friendships forming out of it, some truly wonderful ones.
It is necessary. If you want to live through the arts, it’s a must.

Let’s play with time for a minute: you’ve booked a dinner table for 4, and you can invite whomever you want from Ramses II to Billie Eilish. Tell me your DDT, Dinner Dream Team.

Oof. They say never meet your heroes… but… off the top of my head. DaVinci, Beksińksi, Bsaquiat, Bjork, Maya Angelou, Rushdie, Oondatje. It’s more than four, don’t ask me to pare it down, I’ll sit on the floor if I must.

Here we go, Proust Questionnaire:

– Your favorite virtue?

Well…I don’t even know If I know how to answer. Or if it can be just one, I’ll say blind optimism, adventurousness, grit, stubbornness, kindness, and honestly I’m working on this one, both internally and outwards, and the ability to tap into deep seated joy.

– Your main fault?

The dark side of the above. Except the joy and the kindness. I’ll keep that.

– Your idea of happiness?

Truthfully my idea of happiness is that there is no such thing. I don’t think one can be truly happy and there’s a wave of toxic ‘happiness’ sweeping through our culture these days. I think life is more nuanced and that emotions don’t exist in singular states, necessarily. In terms of positive emotions, I feel there is joy, deep seated joy even, there is contentment and while they are not mutually exclusive, they ‘re not often experienced in the same space unless you are fully aware of the moment you are in. As I grow up/grow older I try to hold onto and cherish those moments. For example, one of the sheerest, most deep-seated joyful times for me was driving across Canada on my own last year, going through the Rockies with some much-loved tunes. At that same time, I was also processing grief. Yet that deep belly joy and wonder was still tremendous. If its day-to-day stuff then there are quite a few things that bring it up… Taking time for morning coffee truly brings me meditative pleasure, I’ve made a ritual of it. But there are so many things, like taking a moment to listen to music sometimes in the dark, art viewing and making of, finding a book that’s hard to put down, delicious food, the company of a good friend, my dogs, most dogs really, a drive up north with some good music playing and the promise of total quiet from all things human.

– If not yourself, who would you be?

My first thought is no one. You can’t possibly know what any one person is living or carrying and if those shoes would fit.

– How you wish to die?

Simply and quietly. At home, after a full life, absurdly old, peacefully and surrounded by loved ones.

– What is your present state of mind?

Post transitional and content, mostly.

Our time is running out, let’s leave ourselves with your vision for the future. Please tell me the projects (paintings/exhibitions…) you would like to achieve, and something you would finally get rid of?

The projects are never ending. As soon as one is done, a new one creeps up. I’m currently showing some pieces at Arta gallery in Toronto and in a little salon rouge gallery called Usine106u here in Montreal and I hope to be part of the Toronto Art Fair again this coming summer. My vision of the future for my work is to be able to dive, whole body and mind into this art practice and have each piece find a home all its own. And to get rid of… Well, I’ll think on that one.