Issue 6 Artist Spotlight | Nina Seidel
C+B: Tell us about yourself, Nina!
NS: Besides my work as a visual artist, I run an art magazine for emerging artists, Suboart Magazine. I founded it in December 2020 and it’s available in print and online. It’s both my day job and a passion project, especially the print edition. I’ve always had such a big love for paper and do think it’s important to keep print alive in our digital world.
As for what inspires me, the short answer is women. I grew up as the youngest in my family and have been surrounded by strong, independent, elder women who have been a role model for me since my childhood days. When I feel rather hopeless with the world, it’s also women I turn to. I love Toni Morrison and Zadie Smith and listen to interviews with them whenever I need a breath of fresh air and inspiration. The longer answer to what inspires me is light, colours, a sunny day, art, nature, the sea. A book you can just get lost in.
In my pastime, I practice Ashtanga Yoga, go to the beach if the weather allows it, or have a drink with friends. I love Martini, ramen and ice cream. Most of the time, I’m creating something, though. It’s my work now but has been my pastime forever, and that will most likely never change, independently of how my career as an artist evolves.
Something people may not know about me is what a messy person I am and what a professional procrastinator. It can literally take me weeks or even months to make a doctor’s appointment or to go to the shop to buy green paint.
C+B: How has your relationship with your work changed since you first started creating?
NS: It’s funny that you ask because I’ve been thinking about this recently. My relationship with my work has changed, of course, like everything changes when you’re 33 and not 10 anymore. But then again, not so much, and I somehow really like that. I started out creating things with paper when I was a child and afterwards, as a teenager, went on to paint abstract canvases with plain, vibrant colours. During university and the years following, I explored different techniques and themes, and even though I really enjoyed that, I’m sort of back to where I started from.
Things that did change is that I can judge my own work more quickly now and usually know, and am not afraid to admit, when a piece is just not as good as I wish it would be. At university I also learned the importance of a conceptual foundation rather than just explaining a work with “that’s my art, that’s just what I’m doing.” But apart from that, my relationship is the same to when I was a child and teenager. My works have always surrounded me and are somewhat an extension of myself. I’ve never treated them like something special, a bit like you would never treat your hand or feet like something special.
C+B: What has your experience been like receiving feedback or criticism of your work?
NS: My experience with receiving feedback and criticism has been good so far. I loved hearing my peers’ opinions at university and always enjoyed speaking about everybody’s work. I think that especially when you work on something for a long time, another person’s opinion can really be a breath of fresh air and make you see things you’re not able to notice yourself.
C+B: Which creator (present day or in the past) do you most admire and why? What draws you to their work?
NS: That is a very hard question that I don't think I'm able to answer. I tend to like almost everything but hardly anything ever blows my mind. However, when I read the question, the first person that came to my mind was Louise Nevelson. I’m not sure what draws me to her work but I guess that’s part of the magic, that you can’t really name it.
Find and support Nina here:
IG: @n.i.n.a.s.e.i.d.e.l
Website: ninaseidel.art
(Memories Dissolving I, 21cm x 29.7cm, mixed media on Garzapapel with natural edges, ©Nina Seidel)
My ideal creative retreat would be: Now that is a very interesting question that I’ve absolutely never thought about, so thanks for asking! My ideal creative retreat takes place at a spacious house next to the beach, in a country that knows no winter. I would love to share that house with, let’s say, 4 other people, and while each of us have our own space to create and sleep, we come together frequently to speak about our works. My ideal creative retreat also hosts an in-house cook that prepares delicious food, because I’m really not a big fan of cooking but hungry many times a day. The beach, the house, the village are quiet and allow us to sit with ourselves and our work. No internet and smartphones are not allowed, but stamps and paper everywhere, paints, woods, fabrics, clay, and a linocut printing press. A radio to listen to the local radio stations and gorgeous flowers everywhere.
One word that describes my most recent work is: Memory
A quote that inspires me is: “Humans, not places, make memories,” by Ama Ata Aidoo. It’s a quote I came across a few weeks ago, and I feel that it really relates to my most recent work, which is all about memories and remembering people. To be honest, I didn’t know Ama Ata Aidoo before finding that quote, but I look forward to reading some of her books in the future and get to know more about her life.
My hope for those viewing my work: If I could wish for one thing, it’s the understanding that as humans we are all a lot more alike than we are not. What matters to me is probably very similar to what matters to you. Health, friendship, family, love, a peaceful space to thrive in, justice for ourselves and for our loved ones. Being appreciated for who you are, getting somewhere with whatever you’re doing and not being stuck at one place.
It's true that our backgrounds and experiences are ours only. But the feelings that they evoke in us are the same in almost all of us. My works speak about these feelings. They are stories of love and loss, of dreams and memories, of grief, hope, anger. Of feelings and emotions that we collectively share as human beings and which have the power to connect us, if we let them to.
