Parallel Lines: Peggy Sue Amison
© Tanya Habjouqa from the series DIARY OF INQUIETUDE- Testimonies Of French Muslim Women, 2019 | Courtesy of East Wing, Doha
Federica Belli The language of photography is still among the most contemporary ones, notwithstanding the diffusion of digital art and AR. Which factors make photography such a relevant medium in our time?
Peggy Sue Amison Photography has always been relevant because it's accessible and universal. There's an immediacy to photography. When people enter a room and look at a photograph they identify with it immediately, while they may feel challenged by looking at a more conceptual piece of work. Oftentimes, photography is an open door to a story to be followed, or it conveys a sense of humanity or exploration within the work. Also, photography is concerned with light. And that's something we all treasure and understand. From the time we step out of our doors as young people, we are bombarded by imagery in the form of advertising, television, movies. We are actually quite visually literate without being aware of it.
F.B. Also, a problem arises in the cases when we are not as literate as a photograph requires us to be, being the most used medium in advertising right now. It's the most easily misunderstood language. At the same time, the fact that visual language is progressing and innovating at such fast pace is just exciting. East Wing is a gallery determined to promote and diffuse the work of innovative photography practices. Experimental visual language is often considered suspicious, as it is quite difficult to make a distinction between artists who effectively engage with a relevant issue as opposed to those covering the lack of a story. Between the visual freshness and a powerful message, what carries more importance in your idea of photography?
P.S.A. What I look for in an artist is one who is really ready to research and explore the story they want to tell in detail, to look at it from all angles. One also has to be ready to step away from a project to give it time to develop, returning to the work with fresh eyes. One of the issues we face in our 21st century lifestyle is this desire for immediacy, thus I really appreciate artists who are open to receiving and accepting the gift of time, the ones who have the patience and courage to go to the very edge of their idea. William Kentridge famously talks about this quire a lot: the need to pace the studio, returning to an idea over and over again until we can see it anew. It’s that patience, rigour and resilience, as well as creativity and imagination that I look for in the artists I work with - creators who aren’t afraid to stumble to the very edge of their ideas to see what’s beyond their limits.
© Arko Datto (India) from the series RAIL DIWALI | Courtesy of East Wing, Doha
F.B. I'm glad we are talking about this. The choice to appreciate time and have patience become a conscious choice at this point in time. It goes against our nature. Precisely for this reason, it makes recognizable when an artist is really aware of her work: if it keeps you going for years, it's honest.
P.S.A. And it’s a struggle. We all have to pay the bills. Thus to be able to allow oneself that time, an artist often must put down their project to teach, or take a 9-to-5 job, or stop to research and write grants in order to fund their art practice. It takes drive, passion and curiosity to uncover the most authentic story. That’s really difficult and challenging. the most important thing is the work for most artists.
F.B. The ability to recognize whether an idea is true to yourself is fundamental to keep going. You’ve also been a mentor, and you still are. Mentoring photographers on long-term projects involves confronting the ups and downs of working on stories pushed by personal motivation only, with all the excitement and the demoralization that come with them. When coping with such rollercoaster, how do you guide artists through a process that enables them to keep going long-term?
P.S.A. Trusting your intuition is fundamental. In mentoring artists I try to shift the conversation away from the potential problems and more towards figuring out the change that need to take place in order to move forward in their process. It is important for artists have a network of trusted professionals and colleagues. As a curator, one of the most important parts of my role has to do with asking the right questions to assist the artist to think wider about the work they are doing. We all can get very attached to our initial ideas, and sometimes questioning and speaking about the process of making can help an artist embrace a different point of view that will strengthen and expand their work. This can be challenging, because we can often be quite precious about our original idea, it takes courage to be able to let go and see what’s just beyond that. What can give a vitality to the work that maybe wasn’t imagined at first. A lot of my position at East Wing is about supporting the artists in this way, getting them to question a bit deeper and helping them to develop then disseminate their work.
© Martin Roemers, “New M.A. Jinnah Road, Saddar Town, Karachi, Pakistan”, 2011 from his series “Metropolis” , Courtesy East Wing, Doha
F.B. Traditionally galleries have been imagined as physical spaces showcasing artists and selling their work. East Wing, however, is a digital gallery which thrives on the Internet thanks to platforms such as Artsy. How does such difference impact your work as gallerist in practical ways?
P.S.A. In not having a regular physical space to exhibit in, East Wing must use different tools and experiment with communication networks such as Instagram, Artsy and Twitter, as well as temporary ‘pop- up’ spaces, art fairs, photography festivals and outdoor spaces. One thing I want to make clear is that I believe there will always be the need to experience art in a physical space. Digital tools are just that – a tool we can utilize – we will always need to have the experience of seeing works in ‘real life. Even when I curate using the computer to set up an exhibition, I fully expect that once I am in the physical space, there will be a need to make adjustments, allowing the contribution of that physical space to guide the
experience of viewing. Not having a physical space can seem limiting, and of course it’s challenging, but it’s just another way of communicating at the end of the day, and discovering new ways to present works where people will discover them. That includes not only your viewing audience and collectors, but also curators and journalists – by using digital tools in this way, we have the potential to reach a much broader audience. When we think about audiences, we must remember they carry a filter within them that they perceive the world through. We all carry that filter of our own life experience. An artist has their own impulses, their own message they want to convey. Yet, there will always be this filter that influences how different audiences perceive artwork that cannot be controlled – this ‘conversation’ between audience, artist, and artwork is what fosters the dialogue that drives art. Networks like social media, fairs and festivals are vital both to artists and organisations. We require a wide range of networks to share artwork around the globe.
F.B. Presenting an artist via screen only might seem limiting, yet it carries some advantages as well, particularly in terms of increased accessibility to their practice and behind-the-scenes for the audience. In which ways can an online platform such as East Wing benefit to the fullest from these new scenarios?
P.S.A. At the moment I am thinking how I can link these different platforms mentioned above to communicate the wider story about unique artistic process that goes into making artwork. The artists that work with East Wing all engage in very deep research as part of their artistic process, so I would like that to be part of the art viewing experience. East Wing calls itself a ‘platform for photography’, so by presenting the more than just a series of jpegs on a screen is really vital to our mission. It’s important to see how the artist works, what they think, and to share that with the audience to give them a chance to understand the work more deeply. To discuss an artist’s process adds another layer to the viewing experience. I think audiences often don’t fully comprehend how long it takes to develop and execute a body of work. Artist are craftspeople in that respect, and the process can be extremely time consuming, It’s your whole life, and there needs to be more transparency about that. To experience the generosity of an artist who is willing to share that insight regarding their practice is a valuable gift to give to their viewers.
Peggy Sue Amison is the artistic director at East Wing Doha, a platform for photography which is founded in Doha, Qatar, and does not have a physical gallery space. Working predominantly online through different channels, it relies on the platform of Artsy, in addition to the organisation of traveling shows, pop-ups and exhibitions in art fairs. The aim remains that of supporting dialogues in photography, trying to get people to experience photography in a different way. The gallery represents international artists who work on long-term research projects. After being in Dubai for a year, Peggy now lives in Berlin.
