Three of our final-year BA (Hons) Fine Art students recently took part in VVV-Residency, the collaborative video project that’s run for the last nine years in Naples, Italy.
We spoke with this year’s selected artists – Will Sibley, Maria Aoyama and Lara Zimmern – to find out more about what it was like to take part, collaborate and come together in creating their unique, audio-visual projects. As part of VVV-Residency, their final works featured in the Something is not going very well exhibition from 18 March – 18 April at SuperOtium in Naples.
What was the VVV-Residency like, and how has it influenced your artistic development?
Will: It was incredibly valuable in helping to develop my ideas, building language for talking about my work to a strong ability, and embracing collaborative thinking and discussion. I really looked forward to each weekly or fortnightly meeting and developed a strong rapport with Simona and Alessandra, and Maria and Lara.
I remember two meetings in particular when I showed my work, and I genuinely felt it was a complete experiment – I had no idea what reaction I would receive. But this project created a space where that was not so daunting and now, I feel I have gained confidence holistically.
Maria: The VVV-Residency has definitely shaped an avenue of my practice that I don’t think I could’ve discovered or built independently. I was unsure how my little experience with video and primarily analogue, process-led practice would translate into a found footage moving image work, but the residency became almost a perfect way of combining my research and making. I now want to incorporate video work into my degree show and feel a desire to continue exploring sound and video in my ongoing practice.
Lara: I am very individual with my practice – when I have an idea, I often just stick with it and don’t necessarily think of alternative options. This experience allowed me to see that it’s extremely beneficial having discussions, allowing time to sit with your work and seek development, or as I did, just completely restart the whole idea at stages.
As part of their creative practice, the three students worked alongside curators and tutors Allesandra Arnó and Simona De Pozzo from VisualContainerTV – the joint collaborators for VVV-Residency alongside Vegapunk.
What was it like working alongside two professional creatives?
Will: Simona and Alessandra are wonderful as mentors. They really respected us as artists and wanted to hear a lot about our practice, development, and the way we think. Simona even led us around Naples to show us her pottery studio, some projects she is collaborating on, some contemporary art spaces (Made in Cloister, a crypt, a commercial art gallery, and Madre), and organised a studio visit for us with the Damp Collective. The fact they took the time to give feedback to the students they didn’t choose was also really beneficial.
Maria: I really appreciated how they approached the residency with a non-hierarchical approach, making our weekly meetings focused on the sharing of ideas and discussion, and posting our research findings on a shared blog. Ale and Simo were there to guide us and provide feedback but also have a discussion, share ideas, listen and transform what could’ve been a rather independent practice into a collaborative one.
Lara: Reflecting on the concept of major versus minor from a previous unit, it was really interesting to see how cultural links and differences kept coming up. While it's important to consider your audience, through this experience and exhibiting internationally, it was amazing to see how everyone is going to react differently, thinking about what it means to them, in their culture and as an individual, which I think is the beauty of art.
And how did you negotiate this type of artistic learning experience, both individually and as a collective?
Will: Individually, I think we all pushed ourselves quite hard. Discussions with these artists helped me navigate language and ideas surrounding my practice that were previously still quite raw or unrefined. Lara said to me one evening that seeing mine and Maria’s videos develop each meeting gave her insight into her own editing practice by contrast.
Collectively, we became a strong group of artists. We learned to bounce ideas off each other for advice and give and receive constructive and honest feedback. Because of the collaborative nature of this residency, I think we built a strong foundation of trust and mutual respect.
Maria: As the residency was mostly online, it was mostly an individual learning experience – most of my time was spent finding found footage online based on my own interests and editing my video. But what was hugely collaborative was the exploration of concepts and possible research that could be explored through the residency – this was the basis of discussion during our weekly calls and blog posts. The other artists and I weren’t incredibly close prior to the residency, but have become close throughout the process, and even considering becoming a collective.
Lara: Sometimes when working collectively, there’s almost this tension and sense of comparing, yet there was none of that. There was a lot of encouragement and great friendships made. It was interesting to see a thread throughout our final works – tapping into this utopian narrative – that naturally happened due to the engagement throughout all our discussions, which I think is beautiful in its own way.
By the end of the VVV-Residency, each of the video works had gained international exposure. Maria Aoyama’s NEW HORIZONS, Will Sibley’s UN/FAMILIAR, and Lara Zimmern’s RECOMMENDED DOSAGE were presented at the official screening at the SuperOtium contemporary art hotel in Naples.
How was the screening, and what have you learnt from your time spent in Naples?
Will: The screening event let us see our work presented in a professional and rigorous setting. We could see the way it was received, discuss it with the attendees, and also how we held up against (and with) the showreel of established artists.
The time spent in Naples was very important for an artistic context, as we spent these days visiting artist studios and contemporary art spaces. The trip overall, the screening event, the networking, and the residency in general challenged me artistically and intellectually in a fantastic way. I cannot stress how valuable this opportunity was to my practice and how enjoyable it was personally! Yes, this trip was intellectually stimulating and helped develop my practice but also… it was really fun! And I think that is also important to reflect on. Maria and Lara began as my collaborators, but we quickly became close friends.
Maria: The way the exhibition was curated, our work played in between work of other artists presented by VisualContainerTV and The Agovino Collection, our work feel established and respected beyond our position as students. I feel incredibly privileged to have had this experience at my age and at this stage of my career, and I feel it has challenged the way I perceive myself as an artist and individual. There couldn’t have been a better way to learn about Naples’s history than to get a tour let by Simona, intertwined with her own practice, and to visit the studio of Damp Collective.
Lara: The screening in Naples was a great opportunity to see video art, not just through the lens of what I’ve been creating at AUB, but as a recognised and celebrated international medium. It’s safe to say it's not the most recognised or talked-about art form, so it was incredibly inspiring to see it showcased in a professional context and in the light it deserves.
Overall, working in a professional setting allowed an insight into the art world on an international scale, prompting me to feel more confident about my path and reaffirming that this is the place I want to be.
