ZOE BUCKMAN
Name: Zoë Buckman
Age: 37
Birthplace: London, UK
Home: New York, USA
Discipline: Multidisciplinary
Her hungry ribs, 2022
What’s usually the starting point of your practice, and when does your work feel complete?
It’s hard to say where something starts because often it’s an idea that has been percolating for some time abstractly and starts to become condensed and honed, sculpted into a concept for a series. I often think it really starts at the point I give a series a working title.
The endpoint is much clearer to me: it’s an intuitive voice that says very loudly “we are so done here,” and after that, I find it very hard to keep working on a series, even if I want to.
What are you obsessed with?
I’m obsessed with nostalgia, garage music, tea, vintage clothes from the the ’40s, ’70s & ’90s North London slang, Cockney Rhyming Slang, gay Southern slang, gold rings, gold hoops, French tips, chips, men who dress like women, and my daughter.
What are the interactions that you seek between your work and the viewer?
I want to bring people close in order to start a conversation, to provoke thought, to allow a moment of visibility, resistance, or solidarity.
What is your commitment, both artistically and personally?
I’m committed to authenticity and transparency both personally and with my work. I’m committed to keep striving to make good work, push myself outside of my comfort zone, and seek opportunities to serve and lead with generosity the way my mum did. I’m committed to showing up in my relationships with others, myself, and with the divine.
Who are some of the artists that have been the biggest influence on you?
I’ve been really influenced by Louise Bourgeois formally and thematically, Sophie Calle for the way she often starts with a personal experience but expands to include the collective, Lorna Simpson and her relationships to different disciplines, and Wangechi Mutu for her exploration of spirit and the wild feminine.
Where is the beauty for you today?
We have to look for it!
I got to London last night, leaving a steamy and humid New York. Right now, I’m sitting in my bestie’s kitchen in Clapton (her name is Rose and she’s depicted in a couple of my BLOODWORK pieces). It’s just rained and through the open door, I can smell that dirty/fresh wet pavement smell which is so ‘London’ to me. There are a few birds chirping. Her baby is napping, my kiddo is reading, and we’re both working on our laptops. It’s really fucking beautiful when you think about it.