Camara Porter: Hey, Katinka. It’s great to be here with you; I thank you for having me at your studio today.
With your upbringing, how did that influence you to start creating art?
Katinka Huang: I was raised in quite a conservative Chinese family, and struggled a lot at school with academic subjects, like math and sciences.
Luckily, my parents really encouraged me to explore my creative side. So, I had art lessons. That’s how I started creating and painting.
I just never stopped.
Camara: Could you describe your creative process from the inception of an idea to the final artwork of possible?
Katinka: I think it’s very much intuitive. My work could refer to a huge traumatic experience or be based on something so insignificant, like someone riding past me on a bicycle. It’s like: I like you, you make me feel something, I want to paint you and put you in my story. But I’m not much of a planner, I never plan in advance what my work would look like and what story it would tell.
Camara: So as we spoke earlier, it’s almost a form of mythology within your work, encapsulating the idea of a mechanical object with human functions.
How do you navigate the idea between reality and fiction in your works?
Katinka: The line of reality and fiction is intentionally very blurred in my work because I guess I don’t need people to know what’s autobiographical and what’s made up in my work. To be honest most of my work is based on real experiences but i would exaggerate and distort them so much to the extent that it seems mythological and made up
Camara: Are there distinguishing factors that you’re able to differentiate reality from the aspects of fiction?
Katinka: I think the realest thing is the main character itself.
Which is me. The black hair, dark eyes. That is the most personal part of the painting. You know it’s somewhat real because I’m in it.
Camara: Understanding that these works encapsulate the image of yourself, do you ever feel vulnerable to picking your own feelings and emotions to display on to canvas for those to see?
Katinka: Honestly, I find that vulnerability is such an important keyword in my work because my work is really an exercise of vulnerability, the way I portray myself in these grotesque, exposed and monstrous manners. I find it actually more comfortable to depict vulnerability through my painting, than through words.
I was raised in a Chinese family- at home voicing vulnerability was something that was so frowned upon. Like a girl’s negative emotions were always encouraged to be concealed in public and we must be on best form when we’re out and about.
So I’m like, I’m going to show my worst form and my most unattractive side.
So that, in itself, is, you know, being vulnerable instead of pretending to be fabulous all the time.
Camara: That’s very powerful. The vulnerability aspect of it because you’re right,being able to paint yourself in such a monstrous manner, and then also, depicting the difference in certain scenarios, either using yourself in a certain manner, such as this work here, where you’re using yourself as a form of mobility to get around.
Being able to cast your inner being and your inner motion, and to put it on canvas. It’s so raw,and shows determination. I believe your work is definitely very expressive.
Camara: When looking at your paintings, most of the backgrounds tend to be very spatial, in a sense, there’s nothing there.
Could you explain to me why that may be?
Katinka: I just want the focal point to be on the one or two figures, you know, distorted, doing something really absurd, like a person riding on another person’s back. I don’t want to populate the space too much, because I feel like that would distract the narrative from what I’m trying to focus on, which is the body telling its own story.
Camara: With exploring the woman’s psyche.
I just would like to say that I feel like it also plays a role in how much damage society does already to the woman’s psyche. Placing roles upon women and saying, this is what you must do or how you must act.
Camara: What would you give any advice to aspiring artists?
Katinka: I’ve been thinking about this alot: what’s my biggest take away from being in art schools for years, and having mentors both in and outside of institutions?
It’s selective listening, listening to who you want to listen to. You’re going to hear so much. People will advise you, people will give you criticisms, praise you, say amazing things to you, but it’s so important to really choose who and what you listen to.
That’s going to determine the way you create in the most authentic way. You are going to get so many voices and it gets really, really hard to hear your own- for me at least… So, really, tune into your intuition on who you’re going to listen to, take criticisms and compliments from.
Camara: What would you give any advice to aspiring artists?
Katinka: I’ve been thinking about this alot: what’s my biggest take away from being in art schools for years, and having mentors both in and outside of institutions?
It’s selective listening, listening to who you want to listen to. You’re going to hear so much. People will advise you, people will give you criticisms, praise you, say amazing things to you, but it’s so important to really choose who and what you listen to.
That’s going to determine the way you create in the most authentic way. You are going to get so many voices and it gets really, really hard to hear your own- for me at least… So, really, tune into your intuition on who you’re going to listen to, take criticisms and compliments from.
Camara: I think that’s a great statement, and I think it’s definitely true, because in the arts when you’re displaying your work, you are asked so many different questions and receive so many critiques. and suggestions of what you should do.
Camara: Well, Kathy , it’s great having this conversations with you and we will definitely speak more soon.
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