REVOLUTION DAILY

Your first solo show is at Wolves opening on Friday the 3rd of February. Tell us a little bit more about the show, how it came about, the work and so on…

The show is called “Kindling”. It’s pretty much a bunch of drawings of cool looking sticks in interesting compositions, and some other prints and drawings of things other than sticks. I liked the idea of taking something natural and irregular like a stick or a rock and assigning an importance or purpose to it and then not really saying what that purpose is. Like going into the mountains and finding a cairn or an unlit pyre or a collection of things and the kind of mystery that comes with that discovery.

This is the second time you’ve shown in Joburg. What do you make of what’s happening in Joburg. How does it differ to the ways things happen in the Cape?

I don’t really know much about what’s happening in Johannesburg. A few weeks ago I spoke to another artist from Durban when he was in Cape Town and he told us how lucky we were in The Cape to have the large turnout for shows that we are used too. The first time I exhibited work there (with Paul and Justin) we didn’t get much of a turn out, I expect because we didn’t market the exhibition very well. When I was inviting people to Friday’s show I realized that I only know about nine people that live In Johannesburg. So it’s a little daunting having a one man show in a city where you hardly know anyone, or where no one knows who you are.

You and your studio-mates (Paul Senyol and Justin Southey) have recently found out that you will have to vacate your current studio. How do you feel about this? Where are you guys going?

Yeah, that sucked. Luckily we managed to find another studio that same day that is literally across the road from our old one and almost the same size. It will be sad to move out, because it’s Justin’s home and Paul’s sort-of home, but at the same time change can be good I think.

What are your thoughts on the role played by a physical focal point (for example The Bin, The WIC, etc) in a creative community?

I think it’s vital for there to be a base-camp for creative people to work from, especially people who are working for themselves. The Bin was a bit before my time but I think the Woodstock Industrial Centre has played a massive role in a lot of artist’s lives/careers/work. Without it I think a lot of us would still be working from our flats or out parent’s houses or for other people and not really communicating with each other and all going in different directions alone. Being a part of a community based around a place gives us as artist/designers/illustrators/photographers the opportunity to create a sort of culture where working for yourself and doing what you want is doable, instead of coming across a bunch of slackers that don’t want or can’t get real jobs. At the same time being around other artists and their work helps to raise the standards of your own work both in the quality of the work and in the way you behave professionally.

What do you do when self-doubt starts creeping about?

I work harder. I’m very particular about what I put out, and if I don’t personally like an artwork it usually gets filed away and I start over. To work as a freelance illustrator or designer or artist or whatever you need to have confidence in your work, while trying not to fall into the trap of thinking that everything you do is great/okay or being overly critical of your own work. It’s tricky.

You have listed some of your inspirations as your own hypochondria and fascination with contagious diseases, cancers and so forth. Would you say that you are quite a paranoid, anxious person and how does this translate into your work?

Yes. I think I am about to die fairly often. Because I regularly think that I am dying I also often think about what happens after death. The skeletons and spirits and halos and funeral pyres that I draw are more about being alive after death than about being dead. I also think a lot about the catch 22 where I know that I worry about things unnecessarily and can never be sure when to act on those concerns.

Drawing can be a pretty lonely business. Does this get to you or are you a bit of a loner? Do you ever talk to yourself when you are working?

I find it easier to think and focus on work when I am alone. When I have a lot of work to do, I’ll do nothing except work for days. Once, before I started sharing a studio with Paul and Justin, I didn’t actually speak for five days because I had so much work that I didn’t leave my home. It only really gets to me when I’ve gone a month or two without seeing close friends that I should have. I’m a bad friend/brother/son when I have a lot of work to do.

Tell us a little bit more about some of the commercial (client-commissioned) work that you do? What sort of projects do or don’t you enjoy working on?

I’m doing a lot of illustration for motion graphics these days. And I’m doing a lot more clean vector styled work instead of hand drawn illustrations. Mostly because it is easier to make changes to the work, and because I want to separate my commercial work from the drawings and paintings and prints that I exhibit. My favorite jobs are the ones where I get to make my own typefaces for the job. I don’t really like doing character design. If I could only make typefaces all day long I would.

Do you have any other interesting projects or exhibitions in the works that you’d like to tell us about?

I have another exhibition opening at Salon 91 with Lindsey Levendal, Jean de Wet, Michael Tymbios and Mieke van der Merwe opening mid-March. I’m making some products later this year to launch in early 2013 hopefully. Maybe some animation. A website.

If you are in Johannesburg on Friday evening be sure to check out the opening of Bruce’s solo show at Wolves Cafe. RSVP here. You can also check out Bruce’s blog out over here, follow him on twitter over here and peruse his Behance portfolio over here.