Abode
Abode by Miranda Forrester
Earlier this month I sat down over zoom with figurative painter Miranda Forrester, ahead of her debut solo show Abode at Guts Gallery. Her works explore the queer Black female gaze, here’s what you missed 🌺
Addy: Miranda, thank you so much for joining me! What initially drew you to figurative painting?
Miranda: I think I've always been drawn to the figure. It's something that everyone can universally recognise within a painting. I think that's the way that I like to bring people in, in the sense that you know what it is. Then everything else is what you can figure out, if that makes sense.
Addy: Yes, totally. The figure is universal and very familiar to the spectator, but at the same time it’s open to interpretation. How would you describe your work to somebody who's never seen it before?
Miranda: I guess I would describe it as very fluid, soft bodies that move across the canvas and take up space. They're paintings of Black women and non-binary people, with the space to live and breathe, and just exist without any huge agenda or big powerful statement, although I do think they are making a powerful statement in their own way. But ultimately, just being allowed to sit and just be.
Addy: I love that. Your artworks often portray domestic settings, they're never too busy. It's always very focused on just existing, which is really compelling.
Miranda: Yes.
Addy: Did you start painting when you were really small, or is it something that you picked up during school?
Miranda: I think I probably started painting at school, I don't know. I can't really remember if I painted when I was young. I would always draw and things like that, but studying art at GCSE was definitely when I first properly got into everything.
Addy: That’s so interesting, I usually hear stories about artists painting from a really young age. Okay, next question! Your exhibition Abode explores the relationships of queer Black women and non-binary people. What does that mean to you?
Miranda: I think it's just about being able to see myself. I felt so alienated from painting, never seeing myself, and if I did, it wasn’t by someone like me. It seems really obvious to say, but I just want to see women how I see myself, how I see my friends and the people I'm in relationships with. The idea of just having your body hanging out. (laughs) Everyone's always like, "Oh my God, don't draw in my rolls, my boob looks weird from this angle.”
I'm like, "No, (laughs) this is how it is." Just plop around. Don’t try to copy all these women that you see in traditional paintings, posing unnaturally, you would never be sitting [in that manner] if you were on your own. These women are always posing with some kind of male viewer in mind. I just want my paintings to represent you (the sitter), to create the space to just be you.
Addy: So true. When you look at classical paintings, everyone's always really young and perky, and strategically posed in front of something. I always think, “I've never sat like that in my entire life."
(laughter)
Well of Loneliness by Miranda Forrester
It's really cool that there's more of an element of realism to your work. It's just how anyone sees themselves when they're at home or when they're getting dressed.
Miranda: Yes, exactly.
Addy: A lot of these works were created during lockdown. How did lockdown/2020 affect your creativity?
Miranda: (laughs) It's actually a funny one. I feel like it was the opposite of what a lot of other people were experiencing. The first couple of weeks of lockdown, I was so productive, I was churning out paintings. (laughs) I couldn't access my studio so I brought all my paints and stuff home, set up plastic everywhere and tried to just make loads of small works. That worked really well for a couple of weeks and then I just couldn’t do anything.
I hadn't experienced that for so long, where I’m not able to make work, so I found that quite hard. Then I slowly got back into it, through my drawings, which was actually really useful for me. Usually when I do a drawing session, I make 15 to 20 drawings, pick the five best, paint those and then I just forget about the rest. I chuck them in a sketchbook or something. Often, I haven't even taken photos of the drawings, so I won’t have seen them again.
During lockdown, I was going back through all of those drawings and then finding some that weren't that bad, that at the time I thought were absolute trash (laughs), but I found myself thinking, "Oh actually, no. This is alright. I’m going to try and make something with this." It's funny how I’m drawing people that I haven't spoken to in years (laughs), or I made a painting of them three years ago, and now I'm making a whole new series from that drawing session. That’s actually been a really useful tool for me, especially because I couldn't access life drawing during lockdown.
Addy: So usually you have somebody there in front of you, then you work from that. Do you ever just work from images of people?
Miranda: No, I find that I can't get the same sense of movement or life from photos. Also, it's just a whole other thing, photographing someone naked. Most of my friends who model for me aren't professional models. They're usually doing it because they like my paintings (laughs), as a favour or because I'm paying them, not because they want to have naked photos of themselves. It's just a whole different thing and I don’t think I’d feel comfortable doing that anyway, whereas drawing feels completely different in that sense. We always just make it a really lovely day, put on some music, get some snacks, just chill, and then try and pretend that I'm not there.
Addy: That sounds really fun actually.
Miranda: Yeah.
(laughter)
Addy: What type of art do you most identify with?
Miranda: I guess painting just in all forms. I did a painting course as well, so I kind of forget about other medium sometimes (laughs). But any kind of painting on a translucent surface, on anything transparent or where you can see brush strokes really visibly. I'm always attracted to those kind of paintings.
Addy: That makes total sense, the type of art you’re describing aligns perfectly with your own visual aesthetic. The way in which you paint in terms of layering and texture is quite unique to you, can you describe your creative process?
Undone (Diptych) by Miranda Forrester
Miranda: So, I do life drawings. Usually, a lot of them are not very good (laughs) and then there'll be a few that are alright. Sometimes I do a drawing session where I literally love all of them and I'm going to paint every single one. Then sometimes, I do a session and don’t use any of them. It really just depends on my mood and lots of other things. If I have a session of drawings that I like and think will work well as paintings, I will decide which ones will look better on canvas and which ones will look better on PVC, which is the see-through material I use.
Then I'll just plan what I'm doing with each one, and also what scale I want to paint them. If it's a canvas painting, I'll start with blocking in the gloss areas, which are like the shadows. If it's a big painting and I'm using image transfer, then I'll start by doing that. That involves collecting images that I want to include, picking where I want to put them, and trying to select important stills from films and things that I think will look good. So I do that - oh, I almost forgot. (laughs) Sorry, before any of that, I'll prime them and stretch the canvas.
I do lots of layers of primer, sanding between each layer. It's a really, really long process but I need the surface to be completely smooth. I'm so particular about that. The prep of the canvas actually takes longer than the actual painting, most of the time. It takes about a week or more to do the prep, and then I finish the painting in a few days. So once I've done all those bits, then I start to paint. I usually do that quite quickly.
Addy: Do you enjoy the prepping process as much as painting, or is it just really long?
(laughter)
Miranda: I can't wait until the day I can afford an assistant to do that for me. (laughs) I literally hate it so much, but I need it.
Addy: That's so interesting. I thought maybe it could be therapeutic in a way? I don't know.
Miranda: If I do one at a time, it's fine. But usually, I’ll have left it for so long that I need to do them in bulk. When I'm doing five, I'm just like… yeah.
Addy: You just want it to be over?
Miranda: Yes, I just want to get to the painting. That's the bit I get excited about.
Addy: That’s the best part, for sure. Who and what are your greatest influences? This can be music, film, friends, anything.
Miranda: I think both music and film hugely impact my work, I always listen to music while I'm working. It’ll always be music that's giving the same vibe that I want my paintings to give off. Films are so important. I love filmmaking. If I wasn't a painter, I would want to be a filmmaker, even though I’ve never tried making a film. (laughs) I just think that I would love it. My dream is to one day collaborate with someone and make a film. It's the most easily accessible way to tell a story.
When it's done well, it can be so powerful, in the same way that I hope my paintings can be. I think about films a lot when I'm painting. Then, definitely my friends are my biggest influence for my paintings, the people that I draw. It’s always more of a collaboration, I think, for the drawing process. Doing a life drawing and then going to paint it on canvas is so traditional. I don't want to be like, "I'm the artist, you're the model and you just do what I dictate."
I want it to be more of a collaboration, we both share our ideas. I don't want to make anyone do anything they're uncomfortable with. Also, just that process as well, we always have great conversations, great chats, so I've always found that really inspiring.
Doing the Things That We Do by Miranda Forrester
Addy: Amazing. Are there any musicians in particular that you like?
Miranda: There are so many artists. At the moment, I listen to Ari Lennox, I'm obsessed. King Princess, I actually discovered recently. I really love her blatant queerness, I love hearing that in music. A woman singing about another woman and not being afraid to use pronouns.
Addy: Cool, I think the only song I know by her is Cheap Queen, which is a really obvious one lol.
Miranda: (laughs) Yeah, it’s a great song. I also listen to The Internet and Syd from The Internet. Probably my most played artist.
Addy: Omg, Syd sounds like an angel, it's insane. One of my favourite songs is Get Away by The Internet. Love, love, love her voice.
Miranda: It's just amazing. She's incredible. She's so seductive, but also, I don't know. I could listen to her all day.
Addy: Great music choices! What do you find the most challenging about creating art?
Miranda: Probably self-doubt. I think that most artists, the ones I know anyway, need constant validation. (laughs) Even if things happen that are great, e.g. I sell a painting, a couple of weeks later I still have that doubt. Especially if I have a shit drawing session, I start thinking, "I can't draw anymore." It's just these internal monologues, "I've lost it. I've done my best work. I'll never be able to make one like that again.” (laughs)
Addy: When you described some of your work as trash earlier, in my head I was like “No, that’s not true!” I get the feeling that it's more common among women artists, this idea of imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and feeling like you're not good enough. Whereas, in reality, your worst piece of work is someone's best piece ever.
Miranda: That's so true, I always do that. If there's a painting I don't like, I think "No one will like this, because I don't like it." I'm always so surprised when people come into my studio and literally pick the painting I hate the most, and tell me that they love it.
(laughter)
Addy: That's crazy. I’ve seen your works and they're all so brilliant, honestly. Please don’t think that. (laughs)
Miranda: Thank you.
Addy: How important are the titles of your works?
Abundance by Miranda Forrester
Miranda: I find it really hard to title my paintings, actually. Because I always, in my head, just refer to them as who the model is. But I don't want their names to be part of the title, because firstly, it's not really about them, it's about me. I'm projecting all of my stuff onto them, and also, it's not a portrait of that person in the traditional sense. It's my general ideas about bodies, sexuality, and relationships. Sometimes I use their initials actually, and just title it that. Usually, I'll just keep lists of song lyrics in my phone notes. If I think that a lyric really sums up what I'm trying to convey, then I'll just note it down and then title the painting after that.
Addy: I love that. Did your tutors encourage you to title your works during uni?
Miranda: They never told us to title anything.
Addy: Really?
Miranda: Literally until our degree show. Then they were like, "You need to title these." We were all running around the corridors like, "What should I call my paintings? I’ve never had to call them anything before," (laughs) Which is so crazy, because sometimes the title can be so important to the work. We never talked about that.
Addy: That's so weird. I've always wondered how that works, especially for those of you that go on to be artists full-time. Titles are such an integral part of the work, especially when you're doing exhibitions. Curators and galleries will chase you up for these things. Did you ever have workshops or sessions where you could learn stuff like that?
Miranda: (shakes her head)
(laughter)
Miranda: No. I think I had three professional practice workshops over the course of my whole degree. They were useful, I think there was one on CVs, but that whole part of the degree structure was totally lacking. I had zero advice on how to become a professional artist. I didn't even think that I would be, it was only when I saw the people that graduated before me and had managed to do it. They're the people who I got all of my information from, in a panic.
When I sold my first painting, I didn't even know that you had to have a contract. I think the buyer had asked to sign the contract, and in my head I was thinking “What contract?” (laughs) I was messaging everyone I knew that was older than me, and making careers as artists, like, “What the hell do I do?" All that stuff has been a minefield to try and learn. You obviously make mistakes along the way, which is not helpful. Anyway, no, I didn’t learn that at uni. (laughs)
Addy: I wish there was more guidance for things like that, it would be really helpful, especially with contracts. I feel like that leaves a lot of opportunity to be exploited as an artist, especially if you don't really know how the industry works.
Miranda: Yes, exactly.
Addy: Wow, I had no idea. Last question! Do you have a piece of work that you're most proud of?
Miranda: Yes. A painting that I'm not going to sell, it's called BBZ. It's titled after BBZ, the collective, I don't know if you're familiar with them.
Addy: Yes, of course! You did the BBZ Show last year.
Miranda: Yes. I think maybe three or four years ago, they did a collaboration for the Tate Exchange Takeover with Our Naked Truths, which is a life art therapy group. They were modelling nude for this session and it was only for their friends and people they knew, but it was advertised online. Anyway, I sent them a message on Facebook being like, "Please, can I come? This would literally be amazing." (laughs) They said yes, and they got me a ticket. I did some drawings of them, and then I painted it.
It was the first painting where everything I’d been exploring had come together. Also the first painting where I thought, "Oh my God, this is actually working. This is exactly what I want to say and what I want to do." They were also just powerful sitters. They made the drawing experience a lot easier because it was incredible to have such presence. Then they showed it in their alternative graduate show last year. That was obviously really nice, kind of full circle.
Addy: That sounds like such a memorable experience. How was the BBZ show?
Miranda: It was actually amazing. It's one of those things where, at the time, it was so incredible and so far removed from anything I had experienced before. Then I realised after that I probably wouldn’t experience anything like that again, or not for a while anyway. I haven’t experienced anything like that since. It was just amazing in every way. All of the exhibitions I had done before that had mostly been quite stressful experiences. Probably because I didn't know what I was doing or what was expected of me. But with BBZ, they didn't assume that you knew anything.
Everything was very transparent and we just got treated so well. They paid for our transport, took us out for dinner, introduced us to all these other artists, most of whom I'd followed for years, and we got to meet them and they were all interested in our work. They used all their resources to promote us, like working with Dazed. All of these things were mind-blowing at the time, especially for all of us just graduating. It was the best exhibition that I've ever been a part of.
Yukka (Fig. 3) by Miranda Forrester
Addy: That’s so wonderful. Everyone always has such lovely things to say about BBZ! Okay, so at the end of interviews, I like to do something called a rapid-fire round 🔥🔥
Miranda: Oh.
(laughter)
Addy: It’s just a series of short questions and then you pick which one you prefer.
Miranda: Okay.
Addy: Cool, here we go! Cubism or Expressionism?
Miranda: Expressionism.
Addy: Installation or performance art?
Miranda: Installation.
Addy: Roses or orchids?
Miranda: Roses. (laughs)
Addy: Denim or leather?
Miranda: Denim.
Addy: Oh, okay.
(laughter)
Addy: Alternative R&B or Indie?
Miranda: Alternative R&B.
Addy: Nice. Sunrise or sunset?
Miranda: Sunset.
Addy: Texting or FaceTime?
Miranda: Texting.
Addy: Nike or Adidas?
Miranda: Oh, my sister calls me a cross-brander. (laughs) I always wear Nike socks and Adidas trainers. I think Adidas. (we stan an innovative queen)
Addy: Love it. Favourite day of the week?
Miranda: Oh, Saturday.
Addy: Great choice. Last song you listened to?
Miranda: I'm not sure. I think it was Syd and Charlotte Day Wilson, Take Care of You.
Addy: I'm going to write that down for later. Perfect, thank you so much Miranda! I hope you enjoyed the interview and congrats on your exhibition! I'm really excited to see it.
Miranda: Thanks so much for asking me to interview.
For more from the lovely Miranda, check out her website here!