TBI Q&A: Nic Moon
08 Oct 2014
Nelson based artist Nic Moon tells us about the Whole House Reuse Project and her response to the Christchuch earthquakes, Tissue Memory, as part of Artweek Auckland.
Written by
The Big Idea Editor
Nelson based artist Nic Moon tells us about the Whole House Reuse Project and her response to the Christchuch earthquakes, Tissue Memory, as part of Artweek Auckland 2014.
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During what hours of the day do you feel most inspired?
5am-10am
How would a good friend describe your aesthetic or style?
Multi-layered.
What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?
Watching people interact with my work.
How does your environment affect your work?
Completely.
Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?
Start with the big picture, then find the details while I work, and come back to the big picture again as the work reaches completion.
What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?
Have a long-term vision and then bring your focus back to each project or each day as it happens.
Which of your projects to date has given you the most satisfaction?
The current ones – The Ranui Library Public Art Project (which has just opened), and my body of work for Tissue Memory at Whitespace (which opened on October 7).
Who or what has inspired you recently?
The uprising of creative projects that are a response to the challenges of the Christchurch earthquakes. One example is the Whole House Reuse Project.
Tell us a bit about your background.
I grew up in South Auckland, went to art school at Canterbury University as an 18-year-old, and have mostly lived in or near the Southern Alps ever since. I completed an MFA at RMIT University in Melbourne while living in the remote alpine village of St Arnaud, Nelson Lakes (population 400). I have had a full-time art practice for 19 years, currently live and work above the port in Nelson and am represented by Whitespace, Auckland.
Tell us a bit about your recent and upcoming projects.
My exhibition Tissue Memory opens at Whitespace, Auckland on October 7 and runs until October 25. It is a response to the Christchurch earthquakes, and my time living and working on the Alpine Fault Line in the Southern Alps.
I have just completed The Great Forest, an integrated installation for the Ranui Library Public Art Project in West Auckland. I am giving a floor talk about this project with Jazmax architect Lars von Minden for Artweek on Saturday October 11 at 3pm, at Whitespace, 12 Crummer Rd, Ponsonby.
I am about to start a project with a small collaborative team (an artist, an architect, an ex-monk, and a builder) for Whole House Reuse in Christchurch. One whole Red-Zoned house has been deconstructed, the materials have been catalogued and made available to artists, designers and architects to create useable objects. Over 100 projects will be exhibited as one- whole-house-reconfigured at the Canterbury Museum in May 2015.
If you could go back and choose a completely different career path to the one you've chosen, what would it be?
An architect, but as an artist I get to collaborate with architects which is even better.
What place is always with you, wherever you go?
The tussock and snow-clad mountain top, two hours climb above my studio at Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes.
What's the best way to listen to music, and why?
In my studio because it can filter into my body and therefore my work.
You are given a piece of string, a stick and some fabric. What do you make?
That will be dictated by the environment I am in at the time, and the particular qualities of the string, the stick and the fabric.
What's the best stress relief advice you've ever been given?
Focus on one thing at a time and become fully immersed in it.
What’s great about today?
I have just finished installing my work at Whitespace and I have a day to rest.
What’s your big idea for 2015?
Watch out for it: www.whitespace.co.nz