Interview
Simran Ahira
Simran Ahira is a multidisciplinary artist who was born in London, in 1998.
Her main focus is painting, but she is also an illustrator, singer/songwriter and poet, among other things.
Simran studied film at University of the Arts London.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“Creativity is something that runs in my family, and I knew from a young age that the art world is where I belong. I experienced many difficult things in my childhood, and art was the one place I always felt safe.
I’ve been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember. I started playing the piano when I was three years old, and I wrote my first piece of music when I was eight. Growing up, I’d often collaborate on little creative projects like songs or short films with my friends and family. I attended a creative and performing arts high school in Philadelphia for a short time, when my family was living in the US.
When we moved back to England, I studied film at university. In my spare time, I would paint and perform my music at small shows around the city. I had to drop out of university because of mental health issues, and since then I’ve started devoting most of my time to painting.”
What inspires you most?
“I’m most often inspired by my struggle with mental illness and how it affects my life. But it’s usually the most random things that can inspire me to want to paint about these struggles.”
“It’s often on my walks around a city that something will trigger my urge to paint. The way the sun is draped over a discarded newspaper, or the way paint is layered over a graffitied wall might relate to an experience I have had. Then an idea for a painting will come to me.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“I’ve dealt with mental illness for almost my entire life, and have experienced the misunderstanding and lack of support around mental health issues, even to this day. Most of my work aims to communicate the pain of living with a mental illness to those lucky enough not to have one. It’s also a way for me to express my frustration and confusion to those who suffer from mental illness, to provide them a sense of catharsis, and let them know they’re not alone in their experiences.”
How would you describe your work?
“My work has evolved through many phases, but recently my feet seem to have landed quite firmly into the realms of Abstract Expressionism, with the occasional hint of Dadaism.”
Which artists influence you most?
“Abstract Expressionists, like Cy Twombly, fascinate me with their effortlessness in creating such a natural and beautiful sense of randomness. I love the way these types of work give a sense of letting one’s inner child out to play, whilst still maintaining depths of emotion. In all honesty though, the artists that have influenced me the most are my friends and family.”
What is your creative process like?
“I like to think my process is handing my paintbrush over to my subconscious, and asking her what she has to say. As a result of childhood trauma, my brain represses a lot of memories and feelings, and it’s hard for me to access them. If I do manage to gain access, I’m usually in such a bad state that I’m not able to paint. I have to be in a fairly calm headspace to paint, so that I can transcend into a meditative state and let my subconscious loose onto the canvas.”
“Once an artwork is complete, I step back into myself and begin to unpick what my subconscious has tried to communicate. Analyzing my painting can often be the most emotional part of the process for me. I usually learn things about myself that I wasn’t aware of.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
"I believe an artist’s role in society is to contribute to the evolution of humanity. I see art as a form of communication that transcends language. As technology advances and we become more disconnected, artists will be the ones that help us stay connected with each other, and with those curious, playful parts of ourselves that we sometimes lose when we grow up.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“Seeing Frida Kahlo’s work in person was an incredible experience for me. The delicacy and emotion in her brushstrokes brought me to tears. Jean-Michel Basquiat was also an artist whose exhibition had a big impact on me; I loved the loudness of his work. I’ve always been a very quiet, anxious person, and this was mirrored in my work before experiencing Basquiat’s art. His notebook pages were actually the most impactful part of his exhibition for me, and inspired me to be freer with my poetry as well as my painting. Another exhibition I found very moving was Agnes Martin’s, not only because of the beauty of her work, but also her philosophies of art. Her experience of inspiration is very reminiscent of my own.”
Instagram: @simraniiiiii
