Gabie Read graduated with an Art/Humanities-based degree in 1995. She then served as a Combat Medic for several years and returned to Art to process traumatic experiences. She now works part-time as a postal worker. She fits in her Artistic practice and uses the facilities at Leicester Printworks on her days off work. She lives in South Leicestershire, in a Victorian railway cottage, with her cats. @Olafmagnificat
What memories from your childhood continue to inspire your art today? I was born in Northampton, England. I grew up on a Council Estate; my family were the 'London overspill'. It was a short walk to be in the countryside, amongst wildflower meadows, the river Nene, and woods. Being in nature was an escape from the greyness of the Estate. I now try to return to the childhood way of looking at the world, using it as my personal Hauntology, in my Art.
When did you first fall in love with art and realize you wanted to be an artist? For you, what is the importance of the arts? I was about six years old, and there was a print of Van Gogh’s Starry Night in the school hall. A teacher found me gazing at it and told me about the artist. He then showed me more books on Art and encouraged me to draw and paint. For me, Art is a way of life. Absorbing the Arts and creating Art.
What does your typical day in the studio look like? Walk us through your studio and your most used materials and tools. I tend to use the facilities at the Leicester Print Works. I get the train from my hometown station, and then it's a short walk to the Works. Depending on what process I'm using will depend on how I spend my time there. I have begun using photographs to create solar plates and working with the layering of images. I have started to experiment with my etched plates, using aquatint, and then painting with spit bite, to create more experimental pieces and expressive images. At home, the spare room and my small garden are utilised as working areas. I've begun experimenting with cyanotype in my garden.
What projects are you at work on at the moment? And what themes or ideas are currently driving your work? I have undertaken two courses in printing the Eco Gothic at Leicester Print Works. This has influenced my theoretical practice. I've been reading a great deal on Psychogeography and Hauntology. I've been exploring my own personal journey, reflecting on my Ancestry, which is a mix of East London, Canadian, and Irish. I'm very influenced by Weird Walk. I'm particularly interested in finding the 'supernatural' within images I collate.
What do you hope people feel when they experience your art? What are you trying to express? I want to deconstruct and challenge the 'rational' view of our World. I want to present potentially disorientating images, making the viewer 'wonder'.
Which artists, past or present, would you like to meet? And why? Cornelia Parker; I find her vision challenges perception. William Blake, I would love to take a walk through London with him. Ben Edge; I have attended a talk by him, but would like to talk in person with him about his work. Leonora Carrington; I love her eccentricity, and Rosaleen Norton, as I imagine she threw fabulous parties!
Do you draw inspiration from music, art, or other disciplines? I am influenced by literature, particularly the visual imagery of Shakespeare, Blake, and Coleridge. I am influenced by the theatre, the designs of sets. Films, particularly the Folk Horror Genre. Lately, I've been listening to a lot of post-punk music; the deconstructed sound plays into my imagery.
A great thing about living in my South Leicestershire is the easy commute to large cities, to access the Arts. Whilst living in a peaceful, semi-rural green Market town.
Can you describe a project that challenged you creatively or emotionally—and how you worked through it? I recently took a trip to the Rollright Stones in Oxfordshire. I did some experimental sketching and took some photographs. I was particularly drawn to the remains of a nuclear bunker observation post. I grew up with an intense fear of a nuclear war or a nuclear accident; this has never left me. I undertook what was termed Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Warfare training in the Army; all this has played into my perception of the 'ruins'. I was struck by the similarity of the remains to the Neolithic Stones, particularly what are termed 'Hag stones', believed to open portals and have healing qualities. I made a solar plate of the photo, but I need to further explore this image and confront my haunted self.
Tell us about important teachers/mentors/collaborators in your life. The tuition and sharing of ideas and images at Leicester Print Works have been invaluable. The courses run by Robyn Maclennan have particularly influenced the development and direction of my print work. The Two Queens gallery and the LCB depot have also been vital in encouraging my Artistic development, through creating access to exhibitions.
Sustainability in the art world is an important issue. Can you share a memory or reflection about the beauty and wonder of the natural world? Does being in nature inspire your art or your process? Last year, I visited Nova Scotia, where my Grandfather came from. I have always loved the woods in the North East of North America; the density of them and the wildlife. I walked in the woods, in order to connect to my generations of Nova Scotian ancestry, including distant 1st Nations. I absorbed the smells, sounds and felt connected spiritually. I gathered found materials and took photos. I have continued to use this imagery in my Art, as part of my experience.
AI is changing everything - the way we see the world, creativity, art, our ideas of beauty and the way we communicate with each other and our imaginations. What are your reflections about AI and technology? What is the importance of human art and handmade creative works over industrialized creative practices? I am fearful of AI and technology; I feel we are rapidly becoming disconnected from our 'natural' selves. Disconnected from other species, even other humans. I reflect on William Blake, John Clare, and Mary Shelly, observing the changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution and Continental wars, and I feel that, as an artist, I am also witnessing the beginnings of a further Revolution; spiraling humanity, even further from our true natures.
Exploring ideas, art, and the creative process connects me to… my Haunted self.
