43. NACHO GAMMA - A SPACE BETWEEN LIGHT AND SHADOW.
The creative illuminates his personal process.
Nacho Gamma,“Carmine portrait”, London 2020. Image courtesy of the artist.
Framing the Light, was such a memorable performance piece, which came out of an extraordinary time, how do you feel now looking back at that work?
That moment helped me to give an end to a creative and personal block - by keeping myself active and not overthinking it helped me find again my path.
I, very often, return to that room through my memories. It is a way of leaving all kind of pressures behind whilst also bearing in mind the importance of following my instincts.
Nacho Gamma,“Framing the light”, Medium: sunlight, time and graphite, London 13/06/2020. Image courtesy of the artist.
Nacho Gamma, “Framing the light (from 2pm to 10 pm)” Medium: sunlight, time, graphite London 13/06/2020
A sense of light feels so pertinent to your work, from those early iterations using natural light, to the portrait film with Oliver where you painted yourself in white, and then, of course, the symbolism of religious iconography which you return to, can you express why you return to light?
I have the feeling that the passage of time darkens us and that sensation used to worry me, because I had the impression that I was irremediably changing and stopping being myself. Now that I see life through a melancholic shade, I understand that, as it happens with the sunlight which transforms along the day, change is inevitable and looking at things from the darkness lets us see them brighter. That is why, for me, seeing the smallest beam of light has become such a unique event.
In fact, I find the limit between the concepts of light and shadow is something full of mystery that never stops surprising me. ¿How is it possible that two opposite elements need themselves as much to define their own existence?
I also find this duality in the relation between the human and the divine. A question which has not yet been resolved and has been reflected in our history through paintings, texts and monuments made by many other artists.
Nacho Gamma, image courtesy of the artist. From a series first published within issue one of M-A (A SPACE BETWEEN)
Your contribution to the first issue of the magazine was extraordinary, I remember your commitment to that project and the images captured using your Grandfather's camera. The images from the chapel and the boards of visual prayers were incredible to see, please can you introduce that work?
The photos presented in the first issue are the consequence of a transcendental moment for myself.
Fortunately, before moving for a long period to Amsterdam and later to London my grandparents passed away. I mean fortunately because my fear was to experience this situation abroad and not being able to say goodbye to them.
After that, I spent two years abroad, completely distracted about what had happened. But once I finished my Masters and I returned to Spain I decided to go back to their house.
It was a harsh blow to find my grandmother’s chair empty after I opened the door, but it was then when I noticed that I could still grasp their smell still between those walls and I began to cry. It felt like they were still there.
Both their lives were kept in boxes and among all that I found my grandfather’s old camera and some photos taken by him. I immediately knew I had to give it a new life and that moment became a farewell I had never thought I needed until that very same day.
I feel that to define you in terms of media is sort of pointless, you are just so creative, and your contribution to the projects you engage with are so full - I appreciate that there has been an internal tension regarding working as a designer and working as an artist. How do you feel now about this point of view and what have you learned from processing that tension?
As a creative, I like to work in a space between fashion and art, where creating and expressing myself is the only matter. I believe that the set of projects I have been producing create altogether a spectre that fully defines me as a person and a professional.
That is why I despise it when I have to choose between referring to myself as a fashion designer or an artist in order to be understood by others and find a place in this society. When I try to fill the box is when I understand myself the least.
In fact, I do not believe there is any tension between art and fashion, because I believe they are the same, but rather on the relationship between my way of thinking and the constant fear of not being understood, because my work is born from the need of sharing.
Nacho Gamma, “Metamorphosis” presented at the city of Cordoba, at the international flower festival “Flora” Paniculate flower, wire and human body. Cordoba 16/10/21. Image courtesy of the artist.
The performative work you create is incredibly immersive, I always found that to be very impressive – do you find that you need to protect yourself emotionally in the exposure and creation of that work, do you have an alter ego that you engage with when you perform?
I am constantly trying to get to know myself better through my work. It is even a cathartic process I undertake to move on because by expressing my feelings and experiences I avoid any trauma contaminating me.
Performance makes me feel an adrenaline that brings me so much joy and makes me live with much more intensity. While the piece is activated, I feel I have the permission to act without thinking about the consequences.
It is very visceral. It is then when I feel authentic, so this makes me question where the alter ego actually exists, inside or outside the art piece.
Nacho Gamma, “East to west” Medium: snow and red painting for soccer fields. 10/01/2021. Image courtesy of the artist.
Your creative process seems to focus on the sensual, the tender, the body, from the works you have made so far, what do you feel you have learned in terms of your developing point of view?
I do not usually get a pause to reflect on what I have previously made because I am always thinking about what will be next, it is like a thirst that never stops. However now, when I look back, I can see a path that has come to life and I am proud of it.
What I do always bear in mind is that, in order to make something transcendental, it is necessary to stay truthful and consistent with oneself and that there is no better material than time.
Nacho Gamma,“Sunset at Trafalgar” Analógico, Cadiz 3/09/2020. From a series first published within issue one of M-A (A SPACE BETWEEN). Image courtesy of the artist.