Interview
Dita Angeles
Dita Angeles is a portrait artist who reveals uncanny depictions of real or imagined subjects in either oil paintings or photography. After 17 years spent wandering Asia Pacific, she has returned to NZ, and invites viewers to explore her intriguing and diverse creations.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“I've been artistic since I can remember. I was one of those kids that was hopeless with everything but art - to the great concern of my parents. I started making portrait paintings professionally halfway through my BFA degree at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design, Auckland, where I later graduated in 2004. In 2006, I left NZ and continued painting as an expat in Korea, where I also taught myself photography. Short of a decade later, I moved to Hong Kong for five years, Australia for three, and recently spent six months in various Pacific islands. I've just returned to NZ after a 17-year overseas experience, and feel that being a foreigner for so long has definitely had a positive impact on the way I look at my subjects.”
What inspires you?
“I love spotting the nuances in people's behavior. They're like little treasures that make the personal texture of someone's character. They trigger metaphors and stories in my mind which I use as the basis of my work. Revisiting and elaborating on those thoughts is definitely one of my most inspirational activities. Next in line would be writing letters to people. When writing to a specific person, one must remain oneself while also becoming a different person - the person who only exists as a symbiotic participant within the chemistry between the writer and the intended recipient. It's a brilliant way to not only bond with someone, but also to experience oneself in the context of the other - which I find terribly fascinating.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“Depending on the project - if it's a formal commissioned portrait, I aim to accurately idealise the subject whilst retaining an honest representation with a unique perspective. My personal work extends to more conceptual ideas with themes related to ego, identity, social perception, and anonymity. For example, my #Iconograph series from 2022 focused on organised culture, and blended the social media influencer with religious iconography to represent interchangeable, disposable gods within the limits of social technology. At the moment, I'm working on a project which looks at the current trend of scrutinising men, in which I intend to present tragically emotional corporate portraits.”
“My personal work extends to more conceptual ideas with themes related to ego, identity, social perception, and anonymity.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work consists of uncanny portraits of real, imagined and archetypal subjects, rendered exclusively in either oil paint or digital photography. I never mix media.”
Which artists influence you most?
“In terms of influence, I find that imagery doesn't necessarily beget imagery. Influence comes from any form of thought provocation, that can be translated into one's own priorities and skills. I find it difficult to name specific visual artists that influence me. Sadly the digital world we live in increasingly conditions us to "like and swipe", leading to unwarranted anonymity of the artists. This fast-paced feed of stimuli also taints our interaction with art "in the flesh", and I admit to being highly susceptible to sensory overload, especially visual. I find myself impressed by artworks, only to forget them - and then I remember them later with no way to actively find them back, so I can't be sure who it was that influenced me, if I was influenced at all... I hope I have been influenced by the extraordinary elegance and twisted curiosities of Vladimir Nabokov’s writing, but I can't be sure if I actually have been, or if I am just in complete awe of his work. However, I can say with conviction that my projects connected to social culture and identity are directly influenced by Guy Debord and Hans-Georg Moeller, among other philosophers and academics - I listen to a lot of philosophy while I work and their theories fit my concept.”
What is your creative process like?
“It all starts with the simple decision to focus - this could be on a subject or a concept. Choosing to focus on something brings ideas out of the blue. Of these I have many, most of them terrible, but I always find a few with potential. In preparation of the portrait, I make a lot of random notes, sometimes sketches, and then filter my concept and composition down from there. I then explain my plan to my subject, and organise a sitting. During this sitting, I take photos and make sketches which I use as reference in the next phase. My foremost priority is composition, and I work on it until I am completely satisfied. If the portrait is to be a painting, I paint the base coat with extreme attention at the rate of about 20 square cm per day. Once that's done, I spend up to three months adding volume and details, sometimes colour if the piece calls for it, and I paint until I can recognise the subject. I paint with faithful likeness to the subject, but it is not the "warts and all" rendition I'm interested in, rather, a sensation one might have in the subject's presence.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“With the rise of digital technology, “art makers” have become much more abundant in contemporary life. “Artists” however, whom I differentiate, and don’t necessarily consider as being anyone that makes art, are people who possess some kind of thrilling and uniquely creative computational process as an innate part of their being. Regardless of profession, artists have an undeniable genius factor which enriches their encounters, life, and culture around them. Art-making AI is making a scare among many art makers, but this will not impact the ability of artists - aside from expanding their toolbox to include it, or reject it in a conceptual way, or do something with it you never thought of, etc.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“In the past few years I've been a finalist in several major Australian art awards, such as: Clayton Utz Art Award, 2022; Lethbridge 20000 (Highly commended), 2022; Lethbridge 20000 (Highly commended), 2021; Clayton Utz Art Award, 2021; The Brisbane Portrait Prize, 2020 and the Queensland Figurative, 2020.”
Website: www.ditaangeles.com
Instagram: @ditaangeles
Other link: www.facebook.com/dita.angeles.portraitiste/
