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Tamina
digital art
In interviews Alex asked Tamina about other mediums that are inspiration for her digital art. “Music definitely inspires my artwork,” Tamina replied, “Depending what I’m listening to, the character could have a completely different emotion than I was thinking of in the first place.”
Before Tamina started getting equipment to do digital art properly she used to use her finger on her phone. She found out, through Youtube, you could use foil on a pencil to create your own digital pen and it actually works.
Tope
sound design
Why sound design? I’ve always enjoyed listening to music and sharing it with friends - and would always hear melodies in my head. I wondered if I could ever bring those sounds to life, so I started to teach myself about music production. A few years in, I’ve released music, DJ’ed here and abroad, and continue to pursue those internal sounds.
This is the song Tope, Maria, Tamina, Sia and Zeynep made collaboratively together using sounds they recorded
What is your connection to Edmonton? I’ve lived in Edmonton my entire life, and I’ve always had a strange relationship with the area. I think when I was younger it felt a bit suffocating and far from where all my other friends were living at the time. Now, the distance is the same - but I think my relationship with the area is rejuvenated, there are so many communities of people in Edmonton and it’s been difficult watching lots of the community spaces struggle to stay open. It now feels like a place I’d like to protect.
What did you do with the students? In my sessions, I brought in my modular synth, ‘Cynthia’, to teach the students about building weird sounds and rhythms. Modular synthesis is very tactile and hands on, so I thought this method to be the most enriching and experimental for the students. In the second session, I asked the students to record their own sounds with their phones and bring them in. We manipulated and edited them together to create loops and music alongside the modular synthesizer - I wanted the students to understand that music is in everything, the drip of the tap and the blows of the wind.
Jeng
graphic design
What drew you to design? I’ve always been creative and design-led in my thinking, taking creative inspiration from as many sources as I could, from animation to architecture, fashion to food, and interiors to industrial design. This came through in my crafts as a child, leading to all sorts of objects made using any medium I could get my hands on; figurines using clay, tables out of pallets, gift boxes that looked like cakes made out of cardboard, costume wings out of wood and fabric, sculptures made of wire and wax, stamps out of erasers, bags out of waste fabric, and more. I’m now a creative art director, graphic designer, and workshop facilitator. Creative design and thinking, finding inspiration all around, and crafting is vital to my work. Through my workshops, I wanted the students to be more aware of the creativity around them and bring creativity into more aspects of their lives.
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What did you do with the students and why? The workshops I developed for the students were all about how art exists everywhere, not just in galleries and museums, but in everyday spaces, like the humble corner shop, the focus of my workshops. In the space of the corner shop, the packaging is art, the shelves are plinths, and the ingredients lists are the descriptions. The intention behind the workshops is to show the students that art and creativity can come from anywhere, be made out of anything, and be everywhere. During the first session, we looked at works by artists like Andreas Gursky, Lucy Sparrow, A$AP Rocky and Omega Mart, that feature corner/ convenience/ food shops, explored some packaging that we might see in our local shops, imagined our own products, and designed how its packaging might look and feel. In our second session we crafted our packaging, using clay, paint, glue, paper, cartons, cans, and more.
What did you learn from Close Quarters? I was so impressed by the creative solutions the students came up with on how to craft their packaging designs. There were ideas I’d never have thought of but worked so well. Not only that, they were also able to think critically about packaging trends, what they were drawn to and not, and came up with instinctive ways to stand out from the crowd. The students taught me a fresh perspective on craft and creative ideation.
What is your connection to Edmonton and what is the best and worst thing about it? My paternal grandparents settled in Edmonton in the early 80s, after emigrating to the UK in 1970 and living across various cities. They lived here together in a house on Tillotson Road until just last year. My parents chose to stay close to my grandparents and lived along Haselbury Road, so I was born in North Middlesex Hospital and grew up with strong memories of the house we used to live in in Edmonton Green, it felt so big and green and natural. When I was 7 we moved to another part of Enfield, but I ended up going to school in Edmonton Green from ages 11-18. The best thing about Edmonton is how almost all my childhood friends grew up here also, some are still here. The worst thing about Edmonton is how when I was like 5, someone smashed in my parents car window and stole my sketchbook and backpack, I’ll never leave my bag visible in the car again.
Lola
political writing
Why political writing? I use political writing as a way to express my dissatisfaction with the way the world is currently organised. I write against capitalism and try to denaturalise the violence it depends on. I write to remind myself that more is possible. Writing has allowed me to practice a freedom that I am not often afforded.
What is your connection to Edmonton and what is the best and worst thing about it? Edmonton reminds me of being a teenager and is somewhere I feel confident walking the streets at night. I think the local authority used to project the first stanza of Keats poem Endymion onto the wall under the bridge on Keats Parade... I remember walking past it on my way home. I’m forever grateful that I grew up around other working class people. I think I had to unlearn the myth that “success” meant leaving that place and the people in it behind. The worst thing about it was watching all of the resources that made it beautiful (youth clubs, libraries, after school activities) disappear as a result of state-sanctioned austerity measures.
What did you learn from Close Quarters? I learnt that young people are already aware of their position as racialised and gendered subjects in a capitalist society. They are critical thinkers whose pain and efforts at resistance deserved to be acknowledged and taken seriously, not mocked.