Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

While society continues to make technological advancements as to how we store information, we often disregard previous respected formats and deem them as rubbish. Nick Gentry has found a way to recycle the once-relevant mediums of data storage and apply them to his works of art. Swide was fortunate enough to interview Nick Gentry and explore his journey in creating one man’s junk into a piece of art.

Has art always been your passion? What did you want to be as a child?

I was always drawing pictures as a child and I can still clearly remember those first drawings from when I was very young. It is my way to find peace and clear my mind from the stresses of daily life. As I got older I experimented with lots of art forms, including photography, design and music. It’s great that there are so many ways to be creative, but for me I love the directness and immediacy of making marks with a pencil or paintbrush. 

DELETE
How has living in London inspired  you?

London has such an amazing mix of people from all over the world, so there is a huge range of cultures and inspiration to draw from. Seeing new places and people is a good way to keep informing the work. Visiting other countries also allows me to push myself into the unknown, experiencing new things along the way.

REUNION 

Do you have trademark aesthetics and/or follow a specific creative pattern?

The aesthetic follows the concept of the work. I like to create something that at first sight is beautiful but is also tinged with something darker. The balance of this varies in each piece. My use of outdated media parts, with a fixation on eyes is something of a trademark. I like to juxtapose disparate elements, like the hard lines of technology (underneath or over) the soft curves of a human face.

What do you primarily work with? Where do you usually work?

I work in my studio in East London. I share the space with some other artists and in some way we all influence each other’s work. It’s important to have a space where you feel comfortable and you can get into the right frame of mind. Aside from the disks I use oil paint to pick out the details of the features. I also use spray-paint to obscure the eyes and get some tonal texture on the disks.

GHOST FORMAT
How were you first inspired to start using discarded media as art?

Last year while travelling in Brazil I went to a Vik Muniz exhibition and I was amazed by his use of media. Every piece of material he uses is considered and appropriate to the subject matter. The piece that really stuck with me was a giant world map made up entirely of old computer parts. I started to look at floppy disks and the importance that they have had on the development of our data-driven world.

 

Map by Vik Muniz- Photo by Emma Johnson

Can you tell us about the first time you started to work with floppy disks and VHS tapes?

My first piece of work using floppy disks as a canvas was an image of a fingerprint. To me, this connected the data world with the human physical form using the theme of identity, albeit in an obvious way. After that I looked at using the disks in a grid to create photo-fits, constructing imaginary faces and identities that could draw connections to the personal information stored on the disks.

DIGIT 
Could you briefly describe the initial process of creating your paintings?

Each piece starts with either some preparatory sketching of an imaginary person, or searching for images of random people online. The image is then mapped into a grid, with each section the size of one disk. Spray paint is applied to the disks using a stencil to preserve the label and metal slider. Preserving the labels is key, as the handwriting and scribbling are integral to the personality and history of each piece. Elements of people’s lives are stored on the disks and although that data can never be accessed again I like to preserve some of that for viewing.

MR BEETLE-RINSE
In your floppy disk paintings, you conceal the eyes of your models. Is there a reason behind it?

By chance I found that the metal circular hub on the reverse side of the disk worked well as a metaphor for the human eye. This development was quite important to me, as the eyes of a person can reveal their identity and inner feelings. In the film Blade Runner they use the Voight-Kampff test, which gauges the reaction of the eyes to a set of carefully selected questions in order to determine if the subject is human or android. I sometimes like to cross out or obscure the eyes, as if to somehow protect the identity of the subject.

 

CACHE
Being that VHS tapes and floppy disks are objects of the past, how do you acquire such materials? Is it difficult to obtain them?

I always try and get people to donate the disks and tapes to me but usually I have to buy them online. Over the years billions upon billions of disks and tapes have been manufactured and today they are widely regarded as junk. This makes them an affordable thing to make art with. Maybe in time they will become very rare and the opportunity for creating art in this way will have passed.

OBSOLETE

What future projects can we look out for? Will we be seeing works beyond the use of media?

I feel there is a lot more experimentation to be done with obsolete media. After that, it’s not easy to say as the process and concept evolves over time. I’m interested in street art and am looking for the right opportunity (and enough disks!) to create something on a much bigger scale.
 

 With special thanks to Nick Gentry - to see more of his work and/or donate recycled media, visit  nickgentry.co.uk
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Timaj Alwan

 

Source & Photo Credits: With kind permission from Nick Gentry

 

TAGS: nick gentry floppy disk art vhs art