'A Microscopial Forest' by Nina Jørgensen, collage of printouts of the drawings of microscopical particles.
By Margaret Hedderman, Questions by Margaret Hedderman and Geo Ong
I stumbled upon London artist Nina Jørgensen while perusing the fascinating blog, The Burning House. There was something about the work of the Danish/Mexican illustrator that fascinated me immediately. Specifically, Jørgensen’s work for the Broad Vision exhibition, ‘A Microscopial Forest’ (a collage of drawings and prints of cells overlaid onto a photograph of a stand of trees), caught my eye. With each work, the artist’s intended story stands equally alongside of the artist’s thought process.
Nina Jørgensen
Jørgensen has lead an as equally fascinating life as her work. “I guess I am not ‘from’ just one place you could say! Right now my mum lives in Sweden and my dad in Finland, so my story is quite complicated!” After ten years in Denmark, six in Mexico, and two in Sweden, Jørgensen now lives and studies in London at The University of Westminster.
We recently sat down at our respective keyboards on either side of the Atlantic and had an email Q&A. Here’s what we got!
The Urchins: How did you discover that you were an artist?
Nina: When I was younger I was really into Anime and I used to copy the characters and create my own ones with pencils and pastels. As a teen, I got a job at a comic book store and fell in love with illustrations by most notably Charles Vess and James Jean and I made some comics of my own (all left unfinished though). But it wasn’t until I took visual arts in high school that I realized I could ‘become’ an artist professionally. I had an inspiring teacher and he taught me a lot about ideas, abstraction, colours and composition. But looking back, I have always been drawing in one-way or another. My parents encouraged my siblings and I to draw and I still have a folder full of drawings that I made when I was 1 – 6 years old.
The Urchins: Who are your biggest artistic influences?
Nina: I would say that it is a combination of Expressionists – Oskar Kokoschka, George Grosz – and artists such as James Ensor. These influences are perhaps more about symbols/colours than the visuals. Although my work is concept based, I look at fine art for inspiration. I also tend to look at political posters a lot.
'Throwing Jobs Away' by Nina Jørgensen, digital collage and ink drawings.
The Urchins: What moves, incites, or inspires you to create?
Nina: I feel like we all have a right to express ourselves, and that perhaps the world could be a better place if we all did so. So I guess that is what inspires me, but also a love for thoughts, ideas, writing and concepts – I find it fascinating how these can be turned into visual representations.
The Urchins: How do you stay motivated?
Nina: As long as people keep living and creating, I can always feel motivated to contribute. There are times when it seems like I am spending a lot of time generating ideas that lead to nothing, but having other interests helps me zone-out from projects and return with new energy. Travelling and reading books do this for me.
The Urchins: A lot of your work features political statements – what do you try to convey through art?
Nina: Art for me is a way to express myself politically – I disagree with some of the established ways of thinking and habits we have in the Western world – like world hunger, censorship etc. I strive to influence the thoughts of individuals. But art can also be a way to learn new things that then can be shared.
'Porto and its beautiful neighborhoods' by Nina Jørgensen, texture ink drawings.
The Urchins: In regards to your Porto map illustration, do your travels usually play a part in your work?
Nina: I do think so. Many times when I start a project, I look through travel photos to get inspiration. I might not find a solution, but the photos might lead me to another idea, a colour, a subject to research further. I read the news regularly and I feel that travelling gives me a greater knowledge of the world, and helps me understand the issues that the newspapers inform me about (and I tend to draw inspiration from world issues). On the whole, learning about new places and cultures gives me more subjects that I can relate to, and I have noticed that artists, including myself, seem to do more projects about things that we are familiar with.
The Urchins: How has London been an artistically engaging environment for you?
Nina: I feel that living in a city like London gives me a lot of inspiration, and the things that happen around me engage with my thoughts and find their way into my art. Since I attend exhibitions, music shows and theatre frequently, I get inspired to create and I aspire to see my own work in the places that I visit. Being able to engage with the city, I want the city to engage with me, and London, being so big, is full of possibilities.
The Urchins: What are your impressions of the London art scene?
Nina: I find the London art scene very fulfilling – no matter what kind of art you like, there is always something that this city can offer you. The Shoreditch and Brick Lane areas are my favourites.
The Urchins: Describe the process(es) you’ve taken to be able to participate in shows and exhibits.
Nina: Being active and willing to engage with people and perhaps new ideas was the crucial factors for me. For my Broad Vision show I had to take initiative, write my own brief, and write a statement of why they should choose me to participate in the project. It was about thinking constructively and doing a good research of the subject.
The Urchins: What future projects are you working on?
Nina: Right now I am working on a piece for an exhibition about dreams and nightmares in conjunction with the art collective Future Gaze that I am part of. It is still in the idea stage so I cannot give many details, but I do know that I want it to be a nightmare representation of a contemporary issue. As a side activity I design websites, and right now I am working on a site for an Oil and Energy company.
