Anna Estarriola On New Commissions and Online Residency Work

Helsinki-based visual artist Anna Estarriola has resided as the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts and Saastamoinen Foundation artist-in-residence at the International Studio and Curatorial Program (ISCP) at different points between January 2020 and April 2021. During her residency, which has taken place both in-person and online, Estarriola has been working on new commissions, connecting with NYC-based curators, and preparing for ISCP’s online Open Studios event. FCINY’s Elina Suoyrjö sat down with Estarriola to discuss her current projects, creative processes, and her experiences of the turbulent year.

Hi Anna! I'm very excited to be able to have this online discussion with you. There have been several phases in your residency period, which started at the ISCP in January 2020. The outbreak of the pandemic cut the period short in March 2020, and the residency continued in an online format until June 2020. Now you’ve been able to hop back to the online residency, from January until April 2021. Could we start by going back to January 2020, and recalling how it was to start the residency at ISCP? I've understood you had a very active start to the residency period?

It was a great start! New York was inspiring straight away. The content, the spaces and the feedback provided by the residency program were great. Having the apartment in Brooklyn, as well as the contact with the staff at FCINY helped much in settling in and creating a fruitful working environment. Soon I got to know my fellow artists in the ISCP program, who I learned a lot from and admire very much. The residency program took us to visit very interesting places, such as institutions, foundations and private collector's homes. I was able to have numerous studio visits with New York and U.S.-based curators, which were enriching and fruitful. I also had the chance to visit a good number of art exhibitions, art venues and art fairs, as well as screenings, performances and artist talks, and wander around the city.

I didn't like everything I learned from the spectrum of things I was exposed to when being in New York and the U.S. in general. I hoped and still hope for many aspects, such as social issues and racial injustice, to change for the better.

I am extremely thankful for the granted opportunity I had. Now in retrospect, and with our physical interactions limited, those first days are even more loaded with value. Hoping that the situation gets better soon globally, I really look forward to being able to work in New York again.

It’s amazing to think how fast many art organizations were able to adapt to the unforeseen situation mid-March 2020. Especially with the extremely worrying situation going on in the city, the shift to an online residency format must have felt dramatic after the dynamic start. I’m sure there are also various positive aspects to online residencies during an era of social distancing. Could you tell us a little bit about how the ISCP online residency works, and how you've experienced it?

Yes, things moved really fast... In mid-March 2020, we switched to an online format. The ISCP staff and fellow artists kept in touch to share available information in the midst of the unsettling situation. I was able to continue my residency in the U.S., even if it was online, until the end of June. This year, I’ve had the opportunity to return to the residency for three months, for which I am very grateful. Even if travelling to New York wasn’t an option, I’ve had the chance to follow the program online from Helsinki. I've continued to have studio visits with NYC and U.S.-based curators online, and ISCP has also arranged weekly online get-togethers with the residents as well as some virtual “field trips”. ISCP has also organized their open studios events in an online format, and I will now get to present my work in the upcoming 2021 Spring Open Studios event 27-28 April.

Of course I greatly missed, and miss, the chance to work in the same building with so many inspiring people, and experiencing the art scene of the city and all what being in New York entails.

Surely parts of the program changed, but the online gatherings have been positive events, and the online studio visits have been a great way to get to know and be in touch with very interesting US based art professionals and curators, being able to exchange views and discuss my work and practice.

It’s wonderful there have been these different ways of keeping in touch and continuing dialogue with colleagues. I’ve also understood this spring has actually been a very busy time for you! A few weeks ago the news came out that you have been selected to produce a new work for the upcoming ARS22 exhibition at Kiasma, in collaboration with Finland’s Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Art - congratulations again! Would you like to tell us a bit about your upcoming work?

Thank you! I was first invited to present a proposal to be considered by AVEK and Kiasma, and my project was selected to be co-produced and shown in the exhibition. For this new media installation I am now working on, I am borrowing concepts and aesthetics of a jury setting for an interview with someone on a video call. The work reflects on the abilities of the different characters involved in the scene to identify with a given context, in relation to each other and within themselves. The piece speculates on collective appearances, processes of acceptance and truthfulness. This set up, that reminds one of a somehow dysfunctional talent show, revolves around notions of  authenticity and the attempts to evaluate, imitate or embrace it as well as everything in between.

Sounds interesting, and so timely! It sounds also like you’re here following and developing your previous interest in forms of communication and interaction. I very much look forward to seeing the work as part of ARS22. Another exciting project you’re currently working on is a new commission for Pori Art Museum. Would you like to share something with us about this project as well?

The museums in Finland have been closed for the most part of the year, and schools have been unable to carry on with their regular museum visits. Due to this situation, the pedagogical department of the museum decided to start a new project with the intention to instead bring the art straight to the school audiences.

I am working on a piece that will travel from school to school in a 40 x 40 cm box. As the space is limited I have been constructing a piece that can be unfolded. Following the nested concept of a Matryoshka doll, the piece has different layers that the teacher can performatively activate for the viewers. The piece stages a small journey about big perspectives.

Sounds very exciting, and this is yet another fantastic example of how art institutions have come up with new ways of adapting to these times. Perhaps these commissioned pieces will at some point be on view for all audiences - would love to see how your piece unfolds from this box!

Your sculptural works and multimedia installations often appear as beings with specific characteristics, almost as personalities. Often these beings are also communicating, in their own way, with the visitor and sometimes also with each other. Could you tell us a little bit about your working process? How do these beings come into being? How do they find their forms and voices?

I believe the influence of working on the stage, performing life, is present in the more sculptural works I do.

I am interested in the recreation of presences and the latency of encounters and meetings with others. I try to use materials, media and technology to recreate the illusion of existing. Sometimes the beings I present are microscopic close ups of something bigger, sometimes they are at one-to-one scale in relation to the viewer, sometimes they are seen from far away. I work with narratives and sound, looking into forms of communication and understanding.

I draw, sketch and plan, and attempt to extrude some of the forms from the notebook. In my case things often come together through speculations and tests at the studio. My work often combines different fields of practice, and I often collaborate with different professionals so qualities from one of the areas involved often influences the other, and then things might grow from there. For example, when it comes to sound, I have been lucky to get to work closely with sound designer Joonas Pehrsson. Together we have experimented and developed different soundscapes that often emerge from or are physically produced by the sculpted works.

The past year has been very hard on everyone, and even harder for a dreadfully large number of people. The ramifications of the pandemic will follow with us for years to come. Despite everything, we’ve been trying to focus our thoughts on a hopeful future and critically think about all the lessons learned during the past year. Is there something you feel like you’re going to take with you from this very exceptional time?

It’s hard to say anything specific at this point, and I think it might come clearer with some more time. Anyhow, for now the resilience and the ability to keep adjusting to new and changing circumstances feels like a good asset to keep practicing.

Anna Estarriola’s interview took place in March, 2021, virtually in Finland.

To read more about Anna Estarriola’s contribution in the upcoming ARS22 exhibition at Kiasma, see here.

To learn more about Anna Estarriola’s practice, visit: www.annaestarriola.com.

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