Meet the Artist - Tiggy Ticehurst

Where were you born? Where were you brought up?

I was born I believe in Turnbridge Wells, in a hospital. I started my life growing up in a place called Walden House on Marylebone High Street. I went to a local school called St Mary’s, when I was really young. From London my mother and also I were bouncing around my grandparents who lived on Onslow Gardens and my father’s sister who lived in Wimbledon, terrible place that was, by the trains. And then from there my mother married and we moved to a place called Twyford in Berkshire. From Berkshire, we had a tiny little terrace house there, and there wasn’t enough room in the house. There were only two bedrooms. So my parents erected this garden shed at the bottom of the garden with an intercom and that is where I was from the age of 6 till 9. From 4 to 6, I was with my auntie Wisty on the farm, in Pluckley, Kent. Pluckley is really interesting it is the most haunted village in England. As you look up Elvey Farm, where I lived, it is actually the most haunted house in the village. It was an old farm and my auntie Wisty who wasn’t really my aunt, she was in fact a friend of my mother’s looked after us on the farm. My mother couldn’t look after us in the swinging 60’s., We were shoved around between different people.

Elvey Farm has been turned into a Boutique Hotel in 2007.

“Perhaps the most prolific ghost at Elvey Farm is the ghost of Edward Brett, who was a farmer at the hotel at the turn of the previous century. In 1900, he gave his wife 15 shillings, each of his children a penny, then walked calmly into the dairy and shot himself. The inquest into his death returned a verdict of ‘suicide whilst temporarily insane’. Mr. Brett has since been seen many times around the farm, often walking around the corridors of the hotel. “ - Elvey Farm

Where do you feel from?

Surprisingly Europe somewhere. England has always been a bit foreign to me. I mean I don’t like beer, I don’t like football, and the weather is terrible, so.

Maybe France.

Do you think your origins influence your art/enhance your vision?

No, I think the travelling did but not where I am originally from.

Having said that, I think definitely genetically there is some information. My family originates from Russia and Germany somewhere a long way back that definitely makes the work the way it is today. My grandfather is German and I have often heard people say my work is very German in the style and of course there are things in there that were very German so definitely genetically.

Somehow the information moves around and helps me create what I create through experiences in mind or in my genes.

What brought you to your art?

Money [laughs], no it wasn’t money. It couldn’t be money, you’d be a stockbroker if you wanted money. I think [painting] was something I always wanted. I always liked, the idea of art but I didn’t have any idea where to start.

I had visual skills as a kid, visual and spatial skills so I liked to put things together, that probably came from my mother’s side, but I had no formal training, it was just something I could do.

I used to paint in my spare time. I didn’t have that much time to paint because there were always more important things to do to make money. In the year 2000 I moved to New York. There, I was offered a chance to use someone’s studio and the paints and the canvas, so I started painting there and I realized how easy it was for me to paint and somehow, I really don’t know how it happened but people seemed to like what I did. I suppose the ultimate understanding of whether someone really likes something is if they buy it and people used to buy what I created so that was really the good start.  

Who was your favourite artist as a kid?

I think David Hockney, wonderful colours, composition.

Who was your favourite artist as a kid?

I think David Hockney, wonderful colours, composition.

Are you a natural or did you study your art?

I am not sure if anybody is a natural at anything. I think you have to work really hard at something to make it into something and I work really hard. I think you have to have a natural ability to have spatial skills definitely. But to be what I am today, I wouldn’t be able to create things the way I do today if I didn’t have a lot of hard work behind it.

Where was your first exhibition?

First exhibition was in London. In the 80’s but I wasn’t a professional painter at that time. It took place in the Church Gallery just off Oxford Street, at Marble Arch.

What did you learn from your first exhibition?

That I had to produce more paintings.

What convinced you to pursue your art career full time?

It was something I was forced into. When I came to NY I wasn’t allowed to work because I didn’t have any papers and someone suggested “why don’t you go sell your artwork in the street?”. I didn’t have many artworks, I had a couple. Things I had done in a trip to California. That paid the bills and kept me and my family alive.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

The people around me and especially when I am painting outside there is a lot of interaction with the people. So yes, everything around me.

Do you feel protected or exposed by your art?

Exposed definitely. I mean, you are showing yourself, you are just open. People can see what you are because you open yourself up. It’s like being on stage, so people look at the painting and they make their own judgements on what they see. It’s not a personal feeling it is very public.

If there were a message in your art, which one would you like people to get?

A light sense of humour, something witty, a light feeling. A nice light feeling.

Do you agree with “everything is personal, everything is political”?

No. It would be a bit rigid, I don’t think I believe in that

Meet the Artist - Special Philip SHALAM in 13 questions

1-       Your photos are characterized by empty spaces, reflections, upside down views. What does each mean to you?

I like emptiness. I feel in charge. It’s mine, it’s my space, it’s my space in that moment.

Reflections are mirrors. I like symmetry. I like showing the equal opposite and showing something equally mirrored is symmetry. Last year I started shooting reflections from puddles. Puddles connect me a bit more to London, they are the only positive thing that I have for the rain. I like the reflections from those puddles. 

Upside Down, because I like playing and turning my photos upside down, it is a comedy of sorts, it shows the abstractness of something real. It’s the A and B of the same building, the same road, the same landscape.

This is what it looks like real, this is what it looks like upside down

Today we all look at the picture and its’ “in and out”, the puddle reflections or the buildings that are upside down, are something that keep you looking a little bit longer.  I like the idea of keeping somebody looking at the picture a little longer than a second.  I like the idea that something can make you think a little bit more about what’s going on here. Reflections in both senses of the word, visually and mentally.

2-       Most of your pictures are architectural, or landscape, but never portraits, why is that? You say you see the buildings come to life yet there is very little life in your pictures

Even though I have never wanted to be an architect, I have always loved architecture. I like lines, and forms. To me buildings have both form and function. Their function is to house stores, people, goods but they also have a form, inviting or not, but a form. I like the focus of a building.

I like putting trees in the London city. I like nature in concrete.

Tree on square by Philip Shalam

I could put people in my photos but I don’t like to. I may be respectful of them by not being in their face. I also feel sometimes that they just look at me like “Who the fuck are you?” Or if I am taking a picture of them, “Why are you taking a picture of me?”. Maybe it’s just the energy that I give off. I remember taking a picture of the platform on Ladbroke grove and a guy on the other platform shouted at me “I hope you’re going to destroy that photo with me in it!” That gave me a fright. That takes me away from people.

I like emptiness. I like a city that is bustling and I like to show it empty. I find it exciting to show NY quiet. There is a scene in Vanilla Sky where the hero is on Times Square and there isn’t anybody there, I found that so exciting when I first saw it, I thought this is a place that is bustling during the day and you caught a moment when it is empty and it is fantastic. That is why I like going out at 5 in the morning and capturing photos at that time. The City (in London) on a Sunday morning is the only time I am really going to see it empty. But the buildings are alive. The picture is alive.

I belong to an empty city. It is mine. I like to think of myself as a nomad and empty places allow me that. Everywhere is yours when it is empty and you belong everywhere.

3-       Born in Switzerland, brought up in England, by Egyptian parents, you moved and lived in NY for 25 years, and now Belgium, has all this had an impact on you and your art? Did you feel like the odd one growing up in London, or in being “the Englishman in NY” for so many years?

I grew up in an international environment, everybody was different. My two best friends from school were from South Africa and Argentina. I didn’t feel any Egyptian, I mean I never heard any Arabic at home, maybe once twice a year. My parents spoke French.

4-       Who was your favourite artist as a kid? What was your favourite artform?

If there was a comic book that I liked when I was a kid, it was Tintin. Maybe that is why I like Belgium.

As for my favourite artist, I don’t know. I loved installations. When I was a kid, I used to build installations with my soldiers and loved them. To me they were works of art that I would be happy to come home to and see everyday, which is why I was so pissed off with my mum for saying “put your toys away before you go to bed”, it’s like “what do you mean put it away? It is a fucking installation! We can hang this on the wall!”

5-       You like visuals and graphics, you studied at London College of Printing, how did you switch to photography?

When in Art school, at Carmel, I painted, mainly abstract. I liked to paint blue skies. For my end of year piece I did an abstract piece. I still remember it clearly: it was square, it was blues and whites and there was a white square added on in the middle there was another piece of wood on top of the painting and out of the extra piece of wood I put a piece of glass that came out of the square so it showed the sky behind the glass. I loved that painting. I saw freedom in it, it was like a breath of fresh air. That is why I liked it. The only issue I had with was my teacher saying to me “what are you going to do next to it?” and I said: “but it’s done!” It is done.

In a way I chose printing as an artform. I didn’t pursue that and maybe, now looking back at it, it probably wasn’t the right course for me. But it does help me in my photography today. I dare experiment more today.

However, what I liked about going to printing college was the size of the printing machines and the idea of industry. I like the idea of being able to create something and print it 10 million times. To me, printing is key. When you see your own work in the flesh it makes all the difference.

After college I worked for a printing company called “Letter Stream” in London  - my mum got me the job there - but they went bust so I went into the sandwich business. I had no money and I had to make some. For years after that I concentrated on making a living, I had moved to New York and needed to make ends meet, and get my Green Card.

6-       What about photography? Did you always take pictures? Did you have a camera as a kid? Or did you start later to enjoy taking pictures? Was there such a picture that made you think “I am a photographer”?

I received my first camera for my bar mitzvah. I actually received 2 cameras, but my parents kept one, an Agfamatic. It was nice, it was very nice, but I wished in way they had kept the SLR.

I always took photos. I remember being complimented on my photos, that’s what got me going with that. Being told I have an eye. By friends, by professional photographers.

7-       What was the first picture you sold? Did that make you decide you wanted to take photography as a profession?

The first picture I sold was a chair auction at Christie’s in NY I was so happy. I sold it to a friend. I did not think I would ever do it as a profession, I just thought “wow somebody liked one of my photos” AND wants to buy it. It gave me a real buzz to sell [my first picture]. I was so happy somebody actually wanted it.

The first picture I sold was a chair auction at Christie’s in NY I was so happy. I did not think I would ever do it as a profession, I just thought “wow somebody liked one of my photos” AND wants to buy it. It gave me a real buzz.

8-       What is your main inspiration source if you have one? Who are your favourite  photographers?

I let inspiration come to me. I walk around and see things come to life. I see the buildings, the colours.

I love the Becher school of photography, Andreas Gursky, Candida Höfer, Thomas Struth. When I was on the train today, coming into Brussels, I looked out the window and the landscape, the farms, the grey concrete-y buildings reminded me of Thomas Struth, it made me think that by being in Belgium I am closer to that type of photography.

I also like experimental photographers, photography with mirror, with glass, photography or using a different glass and you have a psychedelic colouring thing going on.

9-       Do you have any message in your pictures? What would you like people to see in your art? What would you like people to come out with after seeing your photos?

I don’t have a message, “you see what I see”. I want people to see the beauty in it and I want them to want to own it.

I would like people to come out of one of my shows with the impression of having seen beauty, of having seen a new angle. I’m always looking for a new angle, something that’s going to make you see the beauty. And if you don’t see it, then I am going to turn the picture upside down, and you might see it. Turning it upside down adds a different dialogue.

If I can keep you for an extra second here looking at my photo, I am really happy I’ve kept you there. There is still beauty in it upside down. Sometimes there is more beauty in it. Many times there’s more beauty in it.

10-   When did you start taking pictures with a fish eye?

I always loved fish eyes and circular pictures. The first lens I ever bought was a 10-20 mm lens, which is a very wide angle lens.  Ike, this guy I worked with, suggested I start off with a 10-20 mm lens, because “this will give you an interesting view on life” he told me. So it’s thanks to Ike that I started with the 10-20 mm lens which is a very wide angle lens. That lens got me into architecture because I was able to take the whole building. It was amazing.

Ike, this guy I worked with, suggested I start off with a 10-20 mm lens, because “this will give you an interesting view on life” he told me. So it’s thanks to Ike that I started with the 10-20 mm lens which is a very wide angle lens. That lens got me into architecture because I was able to take the whole building.

The fish eye was just a graduation of that. It was taking the 10 mm and turning it into an 8 mm and all of a sudden you had completeness, complete landscape.

Circular is such an interesting viewpoint of the world. It’s all round, completely encompassing, cosy.

11-   Do you think your art hides you or makes you more see-through? Do you agree with the saying that everything is personal and everything is political?

I don’t know. Does it hide me?

I relate to hiding behind the camera. I might even be a bit of a voyeur with a camera to my face. But again, what am I showing you? I am showing you and empty street, I am showing you an emptiness.

Do you agree with the saying that everything is personal and everything is political?

I don’t want to agree to either. I want my photography to be a breath of fresh air.

12-   If you could donate one of your pieces to an organization who would you most like to give it to? Whose life would you like to improve through your photos?

Listen, when I started as a photographer I tried to donate a picture to the Jewish Museum in NY, they never responded, but I thought it was a very smart picture.  Since then I have given out so many photos to friends, to places, to charity auctions. I would like to think they can improve somebody’s life, everybody’s life.

13-   Why did you decide to move to Brussels?

I like Brussels, my partner in crime lives in Brussels and I have been spending a lot of time in Brussels and I am enjoying the city more and more, especially in the summer time.

when I started as a photographer I tried to donate a picture to the Jewish Museum in NY, they never responded, but I thought it was a very smart picture. Since then I have given out so many photos to friends, to places, to charity auctions. I would like to think they can improve somebody’s life, everybody’s life.

MEET THE ARTIST - Special Feature on ADNAN SAMMAN

Where were you born? Where were you brought up?

I was born in Hama. A small city in northern Syria. I spent most of my childhood there before moving to Saudi Arabia then entered adulthood in Jordan. I'm always on the move.

Where do you feel from?

I don't feel like I belong somewhere specific. I'd be attached to the place that provides the most peace of mind for me. My favorite city is Berlin, even though I've never been there. But I feel attached to that city somehow. Home is the place I'll be able to freely contribute to and feel safe doing what I love for a living in. I don't believe in nations and borders (although I'm forced to sometimes, especially while traveling)

"I don't feel like I belong somewhere specific. I'd be attached to the place that provides the most peace of mind for me. Home is the place I'll be able to freely contribute to and feel safe doing what I love for a living in. I don't believe in nations and borders"

Do you think your origins influence your art/enhances your vision?

I'm not sure if origins is the right word. My experiences and surrounding definitely influence my work yes! Is it Syria specifically? I don't think so, no. Last time I visited Syria was 2010. Too many things have happened since that year, and I'd say those had much more influence on who I am as a person.

What brought you to your art?

I've always been expressive throughout my life, but one particular point was when I left home for the first time and headed to Jordan to live on my own. I found myself in a new, big city with nothing. So I resorted to self expression to help me connect with people and pass free time doing something useful.

Who was your favourite artist as a kid?

There was this local artist called Maurice Sankari. He was a close friend of my father so I was able to visit his studio in Hama. He constructively criticized my work and taught me how to perceive art and enjoy it. It was so cool to see art in real life and I will never forget that. Mr. Sankari later moved to Jordan after the war and there he passed away in 2014.

Are you a natural or did you study your art?

I did not study art at an academic level, however, I read a lot of art theory all the time. So maybe somewhere in between. Most of my work is spontaneous though.

Where was your first exhibition?

My first exhibition happened in 2016 at the historic Central Saint Martins in London.

What did you learn from your first exhibition?

I learned that it's really easy to connect with people in this industry. If you make art, people out there are willing to take a look at it. The whole thing happened fast like a dream. I was like: yeah, whatever, let's just contact those people and let them know about my work. I did and they were super helpful. That led to my first exhibition being held at my dream venue! Always contact people. No matter how “far” they seem from the outside.

What convinced you to pursue your art career full time?

I thought I could do art as a hobby while doing other “good paying” jobs. I was mistaken and that caused so much stress. You just can't do well at a job you hate. I realized that I need to have my life revolve around art. I quit everything and now I'm doing this full time. It's not the most rewarding job out there, financially, but I'm happy.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Nothing specific. I find inspiration within almost everything. Things that happen with my friends, people around me, other artists of course, my surrounding environment, music, etc. There's something to be seen and learned everywhere.

Do you feel protected or exposed by your art?

I'd say both. Art is how I express myself, so it's not easy to put it out there for everyone to see and judge. But it's also very liberating and powerful. I believe it gets easier with time. The first few months or years are the toughest. Then art becomes your identity; your shield that protects and empowers you. I'm definitely more protected than exposed by my art at this point.

If there were a message in your art, which one would you like people to get?

I don't think there's one clear message to what I do. I may have one at the back of my mind sometimes, but it's more interesting to see how each individual perceives it.

Do you agree with “everything is personal, everything is political”?

"Art is how I express myself, so it's not easy to put it out there for everyone to see and judge. But it's also very liberating and powerful. I believe it gets easier with time. The first few months or years are the toughest. Then art becomes your identity; your shield that protects and empowers you."

I do. One's personal choices and life reflect the political situation, or maybe opinions, of that person, or the group they come from. Politics shapes the personal lives of people affected the most by it. Political change comes as a collective response to that effect, to enforce new policies. They complement each other in what seems like an endless battle. One can't be taken out of the other's context.

(All photos courtesy of the artist Adnan Samman) 

Meet the Artist - This week we invite you to meet Etienne Buyse

Some history first, where were you born? Where were you brought up?

I was born in Belgium, where I studied Literature.

My travels in Asia and North America – on the road, like a hippie – as well as 2 years spent in the Mauritanian desert, have changed the way I see the world and people.

My travels in Asia and North America – on the road, like a hippie – as well as 2 years spent in the Mauritanian desert, have changed the way I see the world and people.

Where do you feel from?
I feel European. More European than Belgian.

Do you think your origins influence your art/enhances your vision?

There is a very particular Belgian way of seeing things.  I think we are very serious but at the same time we do not want to take ourselves seriously. That odd mixture of lightness and hard work makes a strange “mayonnaise”.

What brought you to your art?

Childhood friends.

As teen-agers, we used to travel around Belgium to “do” weddings and reporting, none were ever published or screened, of course.

Who was your favourite artist as a kid?
Chagall. For his colours and his fantasy.

When I was 14, for some school assignment, I remember going to an arts shop. Amongst thousands of postcards, I picked a little known Chagall: a grey donkey, rising up in the sky, like a windbag; a newly-wed couple in love, colours and roofs.

My choice shocked my parents. In the hotel bedroom where they were spending their holidays and where I presume I was conceived, Chagall’s exact same work hung framed on the wall.

[ C ] Marc Chagall - Don't let that Horse eat the Violin

Coincidence, of course, but also those parallel realities that I like to photograph.

Are you a natural or did you study your art?

Photography is a passion. And a pleasure. And pleasure is something one learns.

As a teen-ager I taught myself shooting and printing techniques. Years later, for a period of 8 years, I took an Academic course. I find the ‘eye’ of others on one’s work, as well as their way of seeing the world, are necessary to improve one’s work and keep on questioning oneself.

Where was your first exhibition?
In Brussels; the ‘Passenger’ series in a group show with a painter. 

What did you learn from your first exhibition?
I was discombobulated : I sold a dozen photos. I acquired self-confidence in me the photographer doing that show.  

What convinced you to pursue your art career full time?
A friend of mine, an Art Historian, advised me to pursue my work.

Furthermore, to sell an artwork is more than just a commercial act. To sell an artwork means the buyer is ready to sacrifice hours working for the sole purchase of an artistic emotion. That, for me, is a formidable motivation. Therefore, I am grateful to people who buy my photos, for all the energy that is being given. They are the ones thanks to whom I improve and never allow myself to give up.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

Crowded public spaces, railway stations, waiting rooms, daydreaming on train or bus trips.

Parallel world that appear in windows and their reflections.

I am also studying the History of Photography. It is imperative to feed on the works of the 19th and 20th century to aspire having one’s own eye and style. Photographers of the Past are the seeds of the Present.

Do you feel protected or exposed by your art?
How can one live without any artistic activity? How can one stand the emptiness?

How can one not be crushed by ugliness and stupidity?

I also write. I feel more exposed through my writing though.

How can one live without any artistic activity? How can one stand the emptiness?

How can one not be crushed by ugliness and stupidity?

If there were a message in your art, which one would you like people to get?
The magic of the world and the existence. Its colours and shapes. Very close by, every day, in the banality of everyday life. One can, of course, see only the grey and eerie side of it. This, however, is not my choice.

Do you agree with “everything is personal, everything is political”?

Yes. And at the same time, it is a rather vague expression.

I believe I possess, through my readings, a sufficient political knowledge. My photography, however, is not documentary photography. I neither preach nor condemn. I try to create emotions by showing the magic of the world. I do not believe I have the power to change things. It might be unfortunate. In Mao’s China, I would have been sent to one of his reeducation camps. In the former USSR I would have been sent to Siberia for being an unrepentant ‘petit-bourgeois’. I am sorry but that is how it is.

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