Artits Of The Week: Naomi Vona – An Interview

Naomi Vona is an Italian artist that lives in Dublin, Ireland. Her works combine different interests like photography, collages and video art. Her latest project is focused on collages, where she works on vintage found vinyl covers, photos and postcards creating a new interpretation of the original shots. Using pens, paper, coloured tape and stickers she gives every image a new life. Every work is basically composed of three elements: her life background, her inspirations, and subconscious, that is also the glue that puts everything together.

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KALTBLUT: What is the material you use for your collages?

Naomi: I use several materials such as new, found and recycled paper, pens, washi tape, highlighters, ink, acrylics and stickers.

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KALTBLUT: How did this obsession begin?

Naomi: I have been doing collages for a long time, I started in 2003, but this kind of works were born when I moved to Ireland. In 2013 I bought lots of vintage photos and postcards from eBay because I’ve always loved to collect things such as found stuff of any kind of material. Once I had hundreds of vintage photos in my hands too, I just thought: why not put my collected stuff on them? So I started playing around with collages. The result satisfied me so much, I felt really good and I didn’t want to stop anymore. I have to say that this way to create was a perfect marriage between my love for collecting things and photography.

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KALTBLUT: How do collages differ from other forms of art?

Naomi: I think that the only thing that keeps collage aside from the other “classic” art forms is the starting point. Collage is a mix and match of pre existent elements that need to be connected in a surreal, creative or unusual way. Collage is not a blank page, it is a confusing mass of images and colours that need to be sorted out in your mind (and then you can fill the blank page). But I also think that all art forms are evolving and influencing each other, so everything is relative, a painter could be a collage artist at the same time and so on.

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KALTBLUT: Where do you get inspiration from?

Naomi: All my works are directly part of my personal life experience. I like to create double meanings, play with words and I really love to quote songs, books or movies that I love. Lots of my artworks are titled and directly inspired by them.

Everything surrounding me has quite an impact on what I do. It could be a landscape, a TV series or a flashing colour that popped up somewhere. I also love to update myself through blogs and see other extraordinary contemporary artists and their works.

Interview by Amanda M. Jansson

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www.saatchiart.com/naomivona

www.behance.net/naomivona