Little Black Book of Art

This week, we interview London artist Ima Okon at her studio in Brixton. A printmaker by training, the core of her practice is informed by her faith, interest in space and the passage of time. Inspired by abandoned urban landscapes, her work takes on anthropomorphic qualities obtained through her intense process of applying and reapplying combinations of printmaking, photography, film, model-making and installation.

Tell us a bit about yourself…who are you and what do you do?
My full name is Ima-Abasi Okon, but Ima is fine. I am an artist living and working in London. I graduated in 2008 form Central Saint Martins School Of Art where I underwent an MA in Communication Design. In the past my work was solely generated by printmaking techniques but after the MA my process has crossed over to include photography and whatever else expresses the idea.

Did you study formally with a view to a professional career?

Yes, but the pathway has somewhat changed. At college I studied Graphic Design with intentions of being a graphic designer with my own international studio and everything. I was taught how to thoroughly research a subject, push my ideas beyond the obvious and not to dumb down the work. It was quite open, so open that when I left I had trouble with my portfolio, as it had become something else – I couldn’t see how it would fit in. Though in hindsight I think that was one of the problems – trying to fit my work into an area instead of letting it be what it was. What is your opinion of arts education? Is an artist born or made or both? So, a year later I enrolled on the MA with the intention to use those two years to indulge myself and perhaps find answers. I wouldn’t classify myself as a designer (though I still design and easily excited by it) but its principles are evident in my work and the way I approach ideas. My thoughts behind colour, language and composition can find their beginnings from that period of my life.

What is your opinion of arts education? Is an artist born or made or both?
I think you’re born with a desire to be able to do something creative – it’s insatiable. Though art education has its place too. It can harness and refine that desire whether technically or critically. Above all, the right education places you in an environment with desires and talents of other people, corridors that are malleable and no lid on top. For me it sharpened areas that needed sharpening. There’s a big difference between potential and performance.

Where were you brought up? Are any other people in your family artistic?
I was brought up in South London – raised by traditional Nigerian parents. My mother’s a dressmaker and my father’s an accountant. At the time the only professions that they recognised were the academic ones, my father had it all planned my eldest brother an electronic engineer, my sister a lawyer, me a doctor and my younger brother an accountant. The first two worked fine. Then I came along and shook the boat…slightly. My younger brother, musically is very talented and has a couple of mix tapes circulating the grime scene, he’s started to play the saxophone and has made a couple of short films as well as directing his own music videos. He hasn’t studied formally, though he’s very clear on how he sees himself and the life he’s trying to carve out. To use his own phrase: Very abstract. I think my boat rocking kind of made it easy for him. I also had a cousin who was much older than us and seen as a bit of a dreamer. I can’t remember if he actually studied art but his paintings and drawings where always at the house, there was one In particular with flowers and some sort of still life that I remember trying to copy. Other than that everyone else is purely academic!

How do you get inspired?
I am moved by things that are important in my life such as my faith, salvation and well-being. I guess this has an overall effect on the conversations that appear in my work.  To ‘get’ inspired, that would be the first place I look.  Then it would be colour. Also going back to things that interest me.

You mentioned that faith plays an important part in your art – please explain…
My faith is the first place I look, as that’s who I am and that’s what I believe to be true. I believe that within my body there’s a spirit—the Holy Spirit so when I look at things its mainly based on communicating what we can’t see and playing with notions of internal and external, spirit and flesh, eternal and temporal…

What have you learned from another artist lately?
How fragile time is and that ‘there is no tomorrow’. That latter has definitely ushered me forward significantly.

Was art your first love or do you have another passion?
No, art is right up there underneath God. I have a great passion for a cup of earl grey and a slice of cake.

What is your view on photography and film, do you feel is the current spokesman of the arts?
I think they’re both very strong mediums in themselves and have been used in strong ways. I don’t see any particular medium as a spokesman of the arts only of an artist’s idea at that time. Trends will always be prevalent in any environment but just because we don’t see a particular medium in the limelight doesn’t mean that it’s not being used prolifically.

Who first influenced you artistically?
It would have to be Mr Fletcher, my art teacher from primary school.  He was great. I valued his opinion so much that every piece of work I did I made sure I showed him even if I had moved on to a different class.

Tell us about your creative process…
I start off with questions that I may have, or questions that need answering and then go to the source – the great Jesus Christ himself. I then set about exploring those answers in a contextual way.  I look for an output/narrative that conceptually is visually and structurally similar to us as vessels. I think that’s why visually at the moment…and generally, I am drawn to architecture with a function to house people. I also surround my self with images, pieces of text that I may have come across…My process is quite methodological with the medium being in direct correlation to the idea.

What have been your favourite projects to date in your career and why?
I was asked to participate in an exhibition that draws upon the relationship between music and printmaking in which I produced an edition of hand-sewn hymnbooks. (Actually this is a prime example of how graphic design is still quite prevalent in my work). From the beginning I knew that I didn’t want to do anything purely pictorial but a lot more subtle. I started to look at the relationship between the performer and the fan and the fans unrelenting loyalty and ‘worship’ this lead to further observations on the action of worship and losing yourself in worship. Experiments with punctuating Psalms with action-fuelled choruses from songs that I grew up with, mainly 80’s Hip Hop formed into my own hymns. I formed quite a few but chose the hymns that when placed together formed more of a narrative – The project didn’t look like me and that’s what I enjoyed the most about it. I found something new about me.

What are your ambitions?
I would like to travel more, especially with my work. At the moment I have ideas to go really big with my work and for it to take on more of a sculptural element.

What role does the artist have in society?
I think everybody’s role in society is to be the best person that they can be. I need to be the best Ima I can be not because I’ll be letting myself down but somebody else. There’s a person out there, unknown to them, that is waiting for the best ‘Ima’ to show up in their life, be it my work, a conversation etc but the best of me so that they maybe inspired to be the best they can be.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?
That there is no tomorrow.

I am always interested in what holds artists back: is there anything holding you back from achieving the next level or accomplishing your next artistic mission?
Reason. That’s why the answer to the last question is so important.

Favourite or most inspirational place?
There’s a clip towards the end of I am Legend when the woman who’s escaping with the cure says something about the world being quiet. That’s my favourite place when the world is quiet. When my anxieties about life are switched off! When all that I am and all that I won’t be is on mute. When opinions that shouldn’t effect me but do are muffled and all I can hear is the voice of assurance.

Sometimes our real accomplishments are human stuff, not the resumé/CV stuff – if it’s not too personal, what do you feel have been your real accomplishments? Has it affected the your work?
Last year a student of mine brought me flowers and a card to say thank you. The message in the card was really sweet and not expecting it, I read it in her presence and became quite embarrassed. I realised later that that embarrassment was due to fact that I actually care about the future of my students and that their time in my presence was helpful. She confirmed that for me. That’s an accomplishment.

You work in Brixton in a building with a fair amount of studios – do you engage with the other artists around you?How important is the company of other artists and creative individuals to your well being and creative output…
I’ve not too long moved into the studio so my first real chance of meeting everybody was at the Wide Open event held here. I got to see the faces behind the doors and look at the work that was taking place next to me. It’s quite important that there be someone who I can show stuff to and the good thing is that the majority if not all of my friends are creative in some way and that really helps. Whether it’s for encouragement, brutal honesty or to learn something new. But being in an environment knowing that people are getting on with things in a similar manner helps you focus.

More of Ima’s work can be seen at www.imaokon.co.uk