The Big Fuss; Featured - allows YOU to get up close and personal with a local Artist. Every month an exclusive new interview entitled the 'This Is Your Strife' Interviews will appear here which allows Artists to express themselves whilst allowing you to delve deep into their Artistic influences, pet-peeves and endeavours.  If you'd like to ask the Artist a question yourself, please fill out the form below!

The Big Fuss: Emma Pearce, This is Your Strife, Question 1, What are the main concepts behind your work and why do you draw on that for inspiration?

Emma Pearce: Conceptually, I am interested in the unseen, unnoticed, invisible actions and exchanges of matter and energy that occur during a process, whether it is opening a door or creating a single stitch. Essentially, my work explores the notion that everything has an equal and opposite reaction, with the intention of creating artworks or methods of creating artworks from the ‘opposing reaction’ that occurs from a situation. As such, I am interested in making work that occupies this space between performance and product, artist and artwork, process and object and inhabits the space between action and outcome, that is, the space between action and reaction.

I draw on this for inspiration as I am interested in science, physics, particles, the movement of matter, the things we leave behind when we visit a place and forensic science. It’s a meeting of the geeky, obsessively organized and creative sides of myself.

TBF: What is the best compliment your work has ever received?

EP: In a cheesy-oscar-speech way one of the best compliments is being selected to work alongside and exhibit with other artists. It’s a massive cliché but it’s a great boost to know that people respect you enough as an artist to want to exhibit with you, at the moment I’m working with Michelle Collins of Diva Productions and Barrie J Davies on an event we’re calling Triple D Extravaganza…. Keep your ears and eyes peeled it’s going to be a good’un!

I guess its also fair to say that selling your work is a big compliment, if someone wants to give you their hard-earned cash for something you’ve done that’s never to be complained about!

TBF: What are you plans for your work? Where do you see yourself and your work this time next year?

EP: For my artwork, I’m planning bigger and better things, more complex, larger works, but I think that’s a natural progression. I’m quite secretive when it comes to my work, I like to have a finished idea or a piece before I show anyone….I like that ‘TA-DAH’ moment. So, for now, I’m keeping my ideas to myself.

I finish my residency at Swansea Metropolitan University in June of this year, at which point I’ll be booted out into the big wide world! I guess at that point I’ll be looking for some paid work so that I can support myself alongside continuing my artwork. I’d love to work in a gallery, or at least an environment where my creativity is stimulated. I’m hopeful to head eastwards and start a MFA in September 2010, so a lot of my time between now and the New Year will be spent choosing a course and completing my portfolio.

TBF: In your own opinion, who are what has done the most for Welsh Art in the past year?

EP: This is a bit of a tricky question, and quite a BIG question. I think I’d have to say that the organisations that I’ve felt have really done a lot for me, as a graduate struggling to survive in the recession, are WARP, Framework and all the galleries inviting emerging artists to submit work for exhibition. Obviously, at this point I could mention big players such as the Arts Council of Wales and the Welsh representation at the Venice Biennale, but as a young, emerging artist I often feel these organisations are unreachable and are intended more for established artists. I think I’d have to say organisations that are supporting the next generation of artists, keeping up our morale and ensuring that despite a lack of funds there are still programmes and opportunities for us, have done the most for the young, Welsh artists.

TBF: Which living contemporary artist would you argue to be the worlds best?

EP: I’m not sure I’d be able to choose just one, there are so many artists that I’m inspired by and for so many different reasons! As I haven’t got a favourite I’ll just give you a list of artists whose work I’m into this week…….

Matthew Barney, Annette Messager, Shelley Goldsmith, Jean Tinguely, Rosemarie Fiore, Ernesto Neto, Ujino and the Rotators, Linda Florence, Annie Cattrell, Daniel Eatock, Freddie Robbins, Hussein Chalayan, Heston Blumenthal, Maya Lin, Henry Krokatsis’ for his smoke drawings and John Wood & Paul Harrison for their HundredWeight Series.

TBF: What local exhibition would you recommend our readers to see?

EP: I’m quite excited about the upcoming Wood Canvas Steel at Tactile Bosch, in their own words its an exhibition by ‘artists / performers who exploit and extend the traditional notion of painting, drawing and print’. Sounds right up my street….

As a bit of shameless self promotion, I’d also say come along to see the Swansea Metropolitan Artists In Residence 2009 show; A.I.R 09. The opening date is provisionally set at 12th June but more information to follow soon!

Thanks Emma for sharing that! If you'd like to ask Emma a question, please fill in the form below. Thanks!

The first of our Interviews is with Cardiff based Artist Barrie J Davies...

The Big Fuss:  Barrie J Davies - This is Your Strife, Question 1, What are the biggest artistic influences that’s have inspired the work that you create now?

Barrie J Davies: Andy Kaufman.

TBF: Describe your work in just six words...

BJD: Funny, stolen, crap, eclectic, confusing and stupid

TBF: What was your art education like, and do you think it’s affected the way you work?

BJD: My Masters degree was the best as I learned that you have to stick to what you believe in, don’t take your self too seriously and that having one idea or one system in art can be flawed.

TBF: Which living contemporary artist would you argue to be the worlds best?

BJD: Maurizio Cattelan.

TBF: What is the best compliment your work has ever received?

BJD: What the BBC said about it...

TBF: Who do you prefer? Hirst or Emin? Or neither? And why?

BJD: Neither, boring and not very inventive.

Thanks for that brief insight into the world of Barrie J Davies!