Neulich bin ich auf das Allround Talent Keetra Dean Dixon gestoßen, deren wunderbare Arbeiten mich verzaubert haben. Gar nicht so leicht, ihrem Werk auf den Grund zu gehen, so vielseitig und so unterschiedlich sind Herstellungsart, Materialien und Ergebnisse. Hier meine paar Fragen an sie:
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Keetra Dean Dixon and my official titles have been Designer, Artist & Experiential Choreographer – but in simpler terms – I make stuff = objects + experiences.
Whats the story of NowHere Nowhere sleeping bag? How was is produced?
The Nowhere/NowHere sleeping bag is a tool for transitional moments of wondering. It was designed as a representation of the perspective shift that often happens as we drift to sleep – that movement between physical space/head space, real/imagined, timeless/present.
Whats the story of the cordial invitations?
The invites originated as a set of notes that I call my “Personal Reminders When Making”, a sort of check list to keep me in line when I am steeped in the creative process. After receiving a generous amount of help from my creative community, I wanted to send out a thank you gift which could be passed on by the recipient, continuing the communal spirit. I transformed my list of “Personal Reminders” into type studies & packaged them as a postcard set, the Cordial Invitations (to makers).
What is your favorite working material and method?
Right now I am in love with wax and its malleability. I have been doing a lot of work pairing letter form and wax layers to examine the evolution of form and messaging. I am trying to harness less predictable making methods. I can be a bit of a control freak when it comes to producing visuals. By utilizing unpredictable materials and a process founded on routine I hope to unveil the beauty in emergent patterns and unintentional form making. It is a means of surprising myself, incorporating discovery as a making methodology.
What is your source of inspiration?
Everything! Right now I am looking at a pretty traditional inspiration source – FASHION WEEK! Pattern & movement & color. So lovely! You gotta love it.
Did you ever get copied?
Yes. Some imitations have been flattering, others have been motivated by financial gain. I always get a kick out of flattering sort!
What project would you realize if money didnt matter?
I am working to get the fund to support a large scale type extruder. Here is a little explanation…
A type extrusion machine will sit beside a wall of multicolored pliable bricks (material to be determined – silicone or wax are contenders). Viewers are invited to feed choice bricks into the machine, cranking the handles of the apparati to compress the vibrant blocks. 1 foot tall letters will squirm from the contraption in an array of mingling color. The message “BEYOND” will sprawl across the ground, its extending form creating an evolving terrain.
With this work I am interested in featuring process and play as performance and sculpture, inviting the audience to contribute to the dialogue. Participants will literally exude their chosen tone, adding to a collective statement. They will discover a discord between their intentional contribution and the final outcome as the machine churns out an unpredictably beautiful co-mingling of form and color.
Fotos: Keetra Dean Dixon, Interview: Anna aus Berlin
