Let me tell you something about Paige Adair: She is the person you want to invite to your next camping trip/urban adventure/library excursion. An archivist by day, she can instantly pinpoint the enigmatic in the commonplace, the otherworldly in the natural. No doubt her archiving skills have fine-tuned her senses to observe, collect and appreciate the detail in everything. Every piece she creates emits an alluring mysticism that draws you in completely.
Her collective body of work manifests itself as a new mythology, packed with elements of nature, beasts, powerful women, the heavens. It spans a multitude of media, from animation and paintings to photography and video, yet each piece feels like it’s part of the same world—a world you desperately want to be part of. (You may have also spotted her live-drawing at our anniversary party last year.)
We talked to Adair about her work, artistic process and being a female artist in Atlanta.
CommonCreativ: Where did you grow up, and has that influenced your work?
Paige Adair: I grew up in a suburb of Atlanta, but I like to think of my home in the sense of its historical nickname, ‘The City in a Forest’. In graduate school I had a critique with a professor and she said, ‘You are really stuck in the forest’, so it would seem in some ways that my surroundings have influenced my work a great deal. For me the forest is a portal into a space far from reality, a place where any fantasy can exist, but I see this fantasy in the environment I experience everyday. I find fragments of the forest in urban spaces, like this kudzu beauty jungle behind the duplex I just moved into, right across from a MARTA station. Right now, it’s blooming purple morning glories and I can’t stop documenting it every time I walk by.
CC: What does your artistic process look like?
PA: I’m constantly taking photographs of all my experiences, from walking the dog in the park to going on a tour of a cave, and searching for feathers on the internet. I’m collecting, reading literature, taking screen captures with rapid-fire acuity, and I’m constantly delving into horror and fantasy films. My process is very intuitive. As an archivist by day, I often feel like my workflow as an artist has a parallel process, and sometimes interacts and corresponds with my professional work. The skills I use during the day often are at play when I’m looking for animation or painting resource materials.
CC: Bright cosmic colors and rich textures are a big component of your work. How would you describe your aesthetic?
PA: My personal aesthetic can be described as layers of slow-moving beauty infused with horror, surrealism, fantasy, magical realism, Bavarian winter, fairy tale, miscellaneous magic, forest portals, ephemera, mysterious Victorianism, interior spaces and ladies for days.
CC: You’ve collaborated before with Mason Brown of Speleogen. Do you have any other collaborations in the works? Any collabs you’d love to make happen?
PA: Yes, indeed, collaborating with Mason on the Daughters of the Cave project has been awesome. He can look at what I am working on and come up with just the right sounds to make the world complete. We’ve both gone on many caving adventures and while I’m gathering visual imagery, he is finding sounds, so it’s really satisfying when those two agencies of visual and audio collage meet.
Up next is a collaboration with the tropical punx of Flamingo Shadow. Plans to release their first music video are underway. In my wildest dreams I would love to collaborate with other animators—one of my favorites is Nathalie Djurberg.
CC: Do you have any work showing around town currently?
PA: I’m going to be participating in a performance show at Mammal Gallery coming up on Oct. 1 called Blood, Fire, and Milk: Recreations of Performance Art. Curated by the wonderful artist and performer Grace Thornton, the show will feature many of Atlanta’s talented artists like Meredith Kooi, Lindsay Smith, and Danielle Deadwyler, who will work to re-embody foundational works of performance art from the ’60s and ’70s.
CC: To date, what has been your favorite project to work on?
PA: This is a tough question. Every new work kind of becomes my favorite piece. Initially with any work I’m in a love/hate phase where I’m not liking the work until I hit a sweet spot and I get in this weird intuitive zone with it until it’s completed. Then there is always a honeymoon phase where I’m so excited and want to share it with everyone I know. My last two favorite projects were ‘Flight like an Arrow’ for Arts at Oakland, where I got to create an audiovisual installation in the Rawson Mausoleum, and my latest video, ‘Rose Red and Snow White: Variant.’ Maybe there’s also a part of me that really loves all the ideas of projects that haven’t even happened yet too, and I think it’s the bursts of energy about all the ideas that keep me going.
CC: What other Atlanta artists’ work are you drawn to lately?
PA: Right now I’m crushing so hard on painter and sculptor Tori Tinsley and painter Ally White. I’m really attracted to the worlds they are making and cannot wait to see more! Swoon.
CC: What’s the best project to come out of Atlanta in the last year, would you say?
PA: This past year I was most impressed with Roam Team’s Cryptophonic Tour for Arts at Oakland Cemetery. The crew that put the event together included Devin Brown, David Matysiak, Mason Brown, Jordan Noel and Pamela Henman. They paired some of Atlanta’s most talented musicians and artists with historic grave sites of the artistic and musical legends from Atlanta’s past. The event drew folks from within and far beyond the scope of the Atlanta arts community. It was an event for everyone which is something I really feel is important. It was truly an incredible day full of sounds, visuals and aurals. Also I am digging the current exhibit up at Eyedrum, Orion Cook’s Living Case. It combines living earth artifacts and really creates an entrance into an earthly, otherworldly space that I loved.
CC: What does it feel like to be a female artist in Atlanta in 2015?
PA: Sometimes it is really awesome being a female artist in Atlanta in 2015. After spending most of my life in Atlanta I’ve always felt a strong sense of female presence amongst artists. I can remember going to shows at Young Blood Gallery as a young intern and was inspired by all the vibes in the space. The women of Young Blood Gallery, Maggie White and Kelly Teasley, carved out a niche that I think is hard to replace.
So here in 2015 it’s exciting to see a new group of young women taking the reins with Ladyfest Atlanta, which is creating place for women artists and performers. I think there is much to look forward to on the horizon. Other times I am like whoa, did that man I don’t know just say, ‘Hey toots, pass me the hammer”?
CC: Anything up your sleeve for 2016?
PA: 2016 is going to be super exciting. I’ve got a project coming up where I’m working with live actors and we will be reenacting fairy tales in the forests of the North Georgia Mountains. This past year I’ve been scouting locations and writing rough drafts for the project. It’s going to be really fun to sink my teeth into once the logistics come to fruition. I’m also going to be delving into a painting series based on the interior spaces of Dark Shadows, the fantasy horror show from the ’60s, and I’m really stoked about that.
Check out more from Paige Adair on her website.
