Sarah Mortlock

Sarah Mortlock is a visual artist who has exhibited her work in a number of individual and group exhibitions in New Zealand and Australia and was the artist in residence at the Studios of Key West during September 2008. During her stay Sarah developed a series of painted constructions which were shown to visitors during the month’s Walk on White.

Tell us about your studio and work back in Wellington

I have an inner city studio at Toi Poneke (Arts Wellington), an artists community set up and managed by Local Government. The facility caters for a wide range of creative activities, and as well as studios for painters, sculptors, photographers, illustrators & writers there are workshop spaces for fashion designers, jewellers, dancers, theater & film producers, & musicians.

I share this studio with a friend who is a fabric artist. There are large windows along two of the walls which means that the interior of the studio changes quite dramatically with fluctuations in natural light. Making work that is responsive to these changes and emphasizes the passage of time has become a key concern in my practice.

There is a confirmed sense of formalism in your work, and a certain command of abstract shapes and inter-relationships. Your objects often project a kind of clean simplicity. How do you arrive at your art-making, and what do you draw from your surrounding environment?

I create geometric constructions which play with the relationship between surface, angles and light and seek to draw attention to our internal experience of the physical world and the relationship that we have with architectural spaces. One thing I am always looking for is to try to engage people to become more aware of the subtleties in their surroundings and the movement of their perceptual processes. This is part of the reason for using a reduced language, so the relationship between the internal and external becomes amplified.

In the 20th century, non-representational and abstract art often claimed to have no reference to the world beyond the picture frame. Is that true about your objects?

My work references and engages with the world but not in a way that is mimetic or intentionally representational. Instead, the content or subject of the work explores the physical relationships between light, material, colour and form and aims to reveal the way we negotiate these through our senses.

New Zealand is a relatively young nation, with rich Polynesian underpinnings and modern-day roots in the British Empire. But there is a certain newness, a rebirth happening there in the 21st century. What is your take on the artistic and cultural life of the Land of the Long White Cloud?

Despite having a rich culture we haven’t always had the confidence or the resources to share this with the rest of the World. However, what we have seen in recent years is a rise in the level of confidence and an understanding that we have something of value. The digital age has been good for us in that respect. It's a lot easier now for us to compare elements of our culture with those of others and I think we're starting to realise that actually we stack up pretty well. We have also just come through a period in which Government funding for arts & culture has increased dramatically enabling a lot of projects and initiatives to get off the ground which might not have otherwise.

Your Father was a general in the New Zealand army, working around the world and commanding United Nations peace-keeping efforts. You've had the advantage of global travel in your life, and have lived in London, Amsterdam, Singapore, and other exotic places. How have those cultures shaped your work?

Living in these different countries has given me the chance to step outside my culture, into someone else's and then look back. I think it's always useful to try and have an inside and an outside view. Also, I think experiencing different cultures enables you to look at the ordinary, everyday aspects of life and question your perception of them. I try to carry this through into my work by creating pieces which challenge visual perception and can make you question what you are experiencing.

Our artist residency program began earlier this year, and we've hosted a steady stream of visiting creative people. Most had not been to Key West before, and made their own discoveries while on our small island at the very end of America. Did you manage any revelations here?

I had the good fortune to meet up with 3 very talented Key West sculptors, Lauren McAloon, Anja Marais & Karley Klopfenstein, all of whom create very interesting site-specific installations within the rich historic & social context of Key West. Prior to arriving on the island I had absolutely no idea that there would be people creating site-specific work and having the opportunity to talk to them about their individual approaches was very inspiring. I was able to share ideas about a particular site I am working on back in Wellington and hope that we will stay in contact.

How has your brief stay at the The Studios of Key West shaped your creative thinking, if at all?

Spending time in the Mango Tree House was an invaluable experience. For the first time in ages I had the chance to work free of distractions. This enabled me to gain a few insights about my arts practice. With my head clear, I found I could recognise when I was relying too much on habitual processes, be it physical – in the way that I set about constructing my work or mentally with the way I was thinking about my work. Now I have a good idea about what changes I need to make in order to take my work further.

I am sure that being in such a beautiful and relaxed environment aided this process. Thanks to Eric, Lauren, Martha & Elena for doing such a great job in establishing the residency!

Our island culture is also quite different to the mainstream American way of life. And it's also quite rich in cultural and literary heritage. Did you get a sense of that while in Key West?

Yes definitely. The island has a very strong, unique sense of identity which is visible in many ways. It seemed to me to be a very friendly inclusive community. This was summed up perfectly by the One Human Family bumper stickers that reflect the open, accepting and relaxed attitude. In contrast, I spent a little bit of time travelling in mainland Florida prior to arriving in Key West and the experience left me feeling underwhelmed. So many of the places I went to seemed generic. Arriving in Key West I experienced a huge sense of relief.

What things do you miss most, or remember Key West by, now that you are back in New Zealand?

Martini monday at Virgilios, listening to live jazz at Pier House, sunset swims at Fort Zach, late night bike rides, iguana's on the footpath, snorkelling out on the coral reef...the Go-Obama Street party, giant avocado's landing on the roof during storms, the mandatory evacuation order, the ethereal beauty of a water spout unravelling as it hit land, flaming saganaki at Santiago's Bodega, the beautiful architecture…and all the amazing hospitality.

I also remember what it feels like to be on a small island at the very end of the road, a place overflowing with life yet vulnerable to massive storms. This for me, makes Key West an altogether more unlikely, unexpected and magical place.

Do you have any plans to travel to other parts of the globe, or look into artist residencies abroad?

I would definitely like to do another residency somewhere outside New Zealand. Being in Key West made me realise how valuable it is to have the experience of making work in an unfamiliar environment. I am also keen to keep the connection with Key West alive and would like to return in a couple of years to check out, and hopefully participate in the Key West Sculpture Festival. I think it would be great, if one day, some of your local artists managed to find their way over to New Zealand....