For the Love of Gas Mask, Watercolour on Paper_27.56x 39.37 inc_2014

Briefly describe the work you do.

My practice is studio based research involving the reinterpretation of media generated images. I focus on images that depict circumstances of conflict of either a political or civil nature. Investigating how these images formulate a biased and skewed view of the world by developing a us/them narrative. The most recurrent representations in my work are active subjects from scenes of protest and civil unrest. In reinterpreting these images in a different medium they are bestowed with a different meaning, and thus create an opportunity for the viewer to form her/his own backdrop.

Tell us about your background and how that has had an influence on your work and on you as an artist.

Well, I was born in Mexico City and come from a family of academics that has always valued exploration, curiosity and looking at the world a bit differently so that had a definite influence on me. I have also been lucky enough to have lived outside my country for extended periods of time from an early age and this exposed me to other views and customs. Further down the line I did a Bachelor in Visual Arts and a Master in Digital Design and both disciplines inform my practice constantly. They complement each other, one is organic and sort of free flowing the other is quite deterministic and rule based.

An Urban Planner Called Ceyda Sungur_Watercolour and ink on rice paper_11.81 x 23.62 inc_2014

The concept of the artist studio has a broad range of meanings in contemporary practice. Artists may spend much of their time in the actual studio, or they may spend very little time in it. Tell us about your individual studio practice and how it differs from or is the same as traditional notions of “being in the studio.”

A few years back I used to have a very traditional take on “being in the studio”. I put in quite a lot of painting hours and always compared it with having an actual office type job in the sense that there was a schedule to follow with lunch breaks and all. That type of structure helped me immensely to develop my technique and create much needed discipline. Now, I spend probably as much time in the studio as before but not actually painting. As my practice has changed so has my time in the studio. My activities involve a wide range of things yet they are all gravitating around art making. In a way artists are always working, studio time is just about putting ideas together and making them happen.

What roles do you find yourself playing that you may not have envisioned yourself in when you first started making art?

Before I had quite a romanticised view of what being an artist was, so the answer to that would have to be all the admin stuff involved with an art practice.

When do you find is the best time to make art? Do you set aside a specific time everyday or do you have to work whenever time allows?

There is probably an answer to that as there are artists, everyone is different and I have been very lucky to be able to work almost any time I wanted to. When having other jobs they have been low key and have not interfere too much with my practice. For me, mornings work best specially when painting is involved because I prefer natural light. For the rest such as research, editing and coding I can work all throughout the day.

The State of Affairs_Watercolour on Paper 27.56 x 19.69 inc_2013

How has your work changed in the past five years? How is it the same?

The content has changed radically, before I was exploring, I didn’t have a clear idea of what I wanted to say. What is different now is that I know the type of concepts I want to pursue and my practice has become more about finding the right channels to express those ideas. Yet, I have not stopped painting altogether, it has been a constant so that has stayed the same.

How have people such as family, friends, writers, philosophers, other artists or even pop icons had an impact on the work you do?

For me everything has the potentiality to impact your work. Whether is a quick chat with someone, something you read or saw, some sound you heard, even something you tasted. And that is the beauty of art, that it can be informed by a plethora of elements finding the sparks that trigger the interests is the tricky part.

Have you ever been pulled in the direction of a pursuit other than being an artist? What are your other interests?

Before art I studied architecture. I enrolled in a program but two semesters in I knew it was not for me as a practitioner, I still love it and keep informed . I hold many interests yet I don’t envision myself doing anything else other than art.

About

Born in Mexico City and raised in Canada. She holds a BVA in which she specialised in painting by the National Autonomous University (Mexico) and a Masters in Digital Design by the University of Canberra (Australia). Her work has been exhibited in several solo and group shows in Mexico, Brazil, Spain, Australia and Singapore among other countries. She was the Second Prize recipient in the XVIII Ibiza Biennale -Ibizagrafic’- with the project dfm e.p.(Spain). In 2012 she was awarded the International Residency grant by FONCA (National Fund for Culture & Arts. Mexico) and spent three months at INSTINC Artspace in Singapore. Ludmila has exhibited in and had work commissioned by the Diego Rivera Anahucalli Museum (Mexico City). In 2014 she took part in the -The Great Collaboration- project in Singapore along with ten other artists. In the same year Ludmila was also named in The 200 top expressions of Mexican Art initiative and catalogue and had work selected for the National Landscape Biennale (Mexico).

Ludmila currently lives and works in New Delhi, India.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

natalialudmila.net

All images copyright of the artist and used with their permission.