Aphra Shemza is a UK-based multimedia artist. She is the granddaughter of the well-known abstract painter Anwar Jalal Shemza. Inspired by her grandfather, her work explores Modernism, her Islamic cultural heritage, sustainable practice and creating art for all. As an artist and activist, she finds ambitious ways to fuse methodologies from the past with new innovations in technology to imagine what the role of art could be in the future.
Shemza combines abstraction with traditional sculpting techniques and technology to create her work. As a sculptor, her main medium is light, which she manipulates to create works that change over time. Handmade and bespoke interactive circuits are embedded within the pieces and this creates work which responds to the viewer or the space around it. Just as abstraction was said to be a ‘universal language for the masses’, Shemza has created a new visual language for a contemporary audience – one that explores the impact and legacy of technology on our world.
Shemza works in series. Each series has a different thematic exploration and a different aesthetic quality. From migration to climate change, Shemza explores many themes and ideas within her work and advocates for a sustainable practice. She uses her art-making as a tool to explore key concepts which are central to her individual journey through life.
Note: untitled images in the feature are by participants of shemza.digital
Self-taught or art school?
I went to art school, where I developed my artistic practice. However, I am self-taught in the electronics side of my practice.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
The first documented piece of light art 1922-1930- ‘Light Space Modulator’ by Laszlo Moholy Nagy.
How would you describe your style?
I work with light, abstraction and interactivity. I combine traditional sculpting techniques with the latest technology to create my work. I work with geometry, creating minimalist works that respond to the viewer or space around them.
Can you tell us about your artistic process?
I tend to see my finished work fully formed in my mind. I then set about creating my idea in virtual space as I try to visualise how to create it in the physical world.
My designs lead to material research, followed by construction in the studio out of wood, metal or plastic. The pieces all have bespoke electronic circuits embedded within them so whilst I am building their structure I am also creating the circuit, soldering the parts together and working with a programmer who allows me to create work that is interactive.
When I think I have finished a piece I hang it somewhere in my home/studio so I can interact with it daily. I don’t let anyone else see it until I have had a period of reflection – if there are no changes to be made, only then is it ready to be seen by the world!
Is narrative important within your work?
I think history and context are important within my work but not narrative as such.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
My main inspiration is my grandfather, the well known British/Pakistani abstract painter Anwar Jalal Shemza: https://www.anwarshemza.com/
I am also inspired by Alexander Calder and artists from the Bauhaus such as; Oskar Schlemmer and Laszlo Molohy Nagy – I love the fusion of art and technology and the use of abstraction from the 1940s and 50s. Later, I have been inspired by artists from the Californian Light and Space Movement such as Dan Flavin, James Turrel and Bruce Nauman, who work with light and space. More recently I am very inspired by the work of Olafur Eliason and Studio Drift whose focus is on our relationship to the planet.
What or who inspires your art?
In 2016 I co-founded Art in Flux (https://www.artinfluxlondon.com/ ), a community interest company committed to providing a platform for artists who work with technology. My colleagues and co-founders Maria Almena and Oliver Gingrich are my closest collaborators on curatorial projects and their work inspires me daily.
I also see my work as a culmination of everything I have experienced throughout my lifetime. The knowledge I have learnt over the last 30 years, be that from reading, making or socialising – it all feeds into one big perceptual melting pot in my mind, ready to form into a new idea at any moment!
Do you have any studio rituals?
I get up early and practice meditation and yoga before work. Due to the pandemic, I am working from home in my office. I start with my most creative tasks in the morning when I am most active and end with admin tasks.
What are you working on currently?
My latest project is called shemza.digital and it is a purely virtual work created in response to the pandemic and the need to connect with others during this time of isolation. The work is an internet-based interactive digital painting application inspired by the aesthetic research of my grandfather Anwar Jalal Shemza. It’s a collaboration with the artist Stuart Batchelor and is supported by Arts Council England. We invite the public to take part today and create their own digital paintings: bit.ly/ShemzaDigital The paintings will form an online archive and we will turn them into a light installation later this year when social distancing allows.
Watch a documentary about the project here: https://vimeo.com/480233434
Where can we buy your art?
You can purchase my work through my website: https://www.aphrashemza.com/shop
And contact me: aphra@aphrashemza.com Instagram: @aphrashemza
Watch a documentary about my practice here: https://vimeo.com/452480784
