@smallditch
marthahaversham.com
How does the environment or surroundings in which you create impact your artistic vision and output?
I find objects in my environment to make my “trashion” collections. Whether I’m on the beach, the high street, or rummaging through my recycle bin, I am deeply connected with the contemporary landscape and surroundings. I repurpose seasonal collections of natural detritus and trash to make imaginative objects of desire.
If your art had a soundtrack, what type of music would accompany it and why?
Upbeat, elegant, seductive, and silly music would be ideal. I blend my knowledge and love of dance, a movement vocabulary, into two-dimensional images, whether on paper or something that pops up on your phone. Let’s go with Goldfrapp, as she has a strong female voice.
How does your choice of medium and technique reflect the emotions you want to evoke in your audience?
The emotions I aim to evoke are those of playfulness, an important state that I take very seriously. By utilizing small-scale chance and aesthetic appreciation, I hope to press quite a few absurdist buttons. The medium predominately involves found objects, and the technique includes analogue collage and still life photography in natural light.
What aspects of your art-making process bring you the most joy and fulfillment?
Everything about it brings me joy. I’ma spontaneous person, so I never know what I’m going to find or what garment or accessory I will create. It’s fun. The concept of form in motion fascinates me, especially since I trained in ballet. I like to use my own paper doll limbs to move about, wearing all sorts of lovely looks. You are seeing me model almost all of them here. It is very liberating.
Use three random objects to describe your artistic process and explain why you chose them.
Glue dots—a trick of the trade. Sharp scissors, because scalpels are for surgeons. Cigarette butts—plentiful, toxic, and perfect for a pair of capri pants, the fabric of our society.
If your art could teleport people to any place in the world, where would it take them and why?
To Smallditch. We can all go there. It is a part of our brain that views the world through a playful lens, where everything is appreciated for its beauty and worth, and where objects, however modest, can be elevated into luxury. In this mindset, we don’t destroy anything; we just count our lucky stars. When you have the keys to your own stockroom of infinite couture, you live a very rich life. I return the keys to you—open up.
Can you discuss any recurring themes or symbols in your work and the significance behind them?
Simplicity. I don’t like embellishments; the art should have all the frills.
