An Interview With Kaja Stumpf
Kaja Stumpf’s work examines memory, self-representation, and the body as landscape. She is interested in the non-verbal coping mechanisms we apply in an attempt to deal with emotional needs and why we use our bodies as currency to communicate in a visual language to the outside world what we value and how we feel on the inside. Kaja’s background in fashion design impacts her understanding of the body as a tool for self-expression and fuels her need to dig deeper into the ideas behind the exterior. Through painting, Kaja revisits past experiences, in an attempt to understand what shapes self-image and behaviour. Utilising staged images and the photographic family archive, Kaja alters the colours to create a sense of delayed familiarity, and by applying a digitally inverted filter, a parallel scene is revealed.
Can you tell us a little bit about you?
I'm originally from Norway, but have been living in London since 2011. Before I decided to pursue my dream of painting, I used to work in fashion. I find that the same themes that I unconsciously explored while designing womenswear, like body language and the psychological aspects of individuality, still impact my practice today.
What is your artistic process and how has it evolved since you began painting?
I work from photographic references, using a mix of old and new images. I often take pictures of printed pictures, and zoom in and out, to achieve a somewhat blurry effect, which I then develop further in the process of painting, either by letting the brush stroke blur the paint or a dot or stamping technique, that is reminiscent of a pixelated image. The tools and techniques I use to achieve this delayed familiarity with the subject is what has evolved the most since I began painting, and I want to keep evolving that.
What is it about 'memory' that you find so fascinating?
I return to the same subject matter, as there is something that is unresolved, that I suspect can only be explored physically on the canvas. I am an overthinker, and can easily get stuck in my head, and I find that going back to certain memories can help bring new light to a belief that arose in a moment where there were no other means of understanding the situation. It's a redeeming act, where I can hold more empathy for something that happened in the past, but influences behaviour and beliefs in the present.
What draws you to a particular subject?
Its always personal in some way, caused by an emotional response. Oftentimes it is something I find triggering on some level, and I want to paint it to question how I feel about it, or to simply understand it better.
How do you hope your art will impact viewers?
I like when people look at my paintings and project their own unique history and beliefs onto it. A cropped image, removes most context which allows for this claiming of the image by anyone. Then we can connect regardless of how we feel about the picture.
Who or what is your biggest artistic inspiration?
Anyone who dares to express themselves authentically.
Your earliest memory of art?
Probably making little doll figures with my grandmother. I don't think she ever considered it art, but she was always making things, both for function and decoration. It would probably fall under the category of craft, but the love of making things, and creating something out of nothing from just your own imagination, is at the core of why I make art today.
Are there any particular artists that you are currently enjoying?
I'm in awe of Michael Borremans work. The way he works with colour, light and dark is really inspiring, as well as the confidence in his brushstrokes. The subject matter is ambivalent and mysterious, it makes me question my own intentions, the good and the bad.
What is your favourite book or film and why?
My favourite book is the 'My Struggle' series by Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgaard. He writes brilliantly about the mundane of everyday life, as well as the most pivotal and important moments, and there is a flow to his writing that is almost hypnotic. He touches upon themes of shame, individuality and love - all of which I find endlessly fascinating.
Are you working on any projects you are particularly excited about?
I am currently working on paintings that will be in a solo presentation end of May that I really look forward to.