Writing, Thoughts and Dreams with
Coco Capitán
ORDINARY TALKS
Photographers use images to translate the world. Coco Capitán also uses words. Born in Spain and now living in London, she tells Tide about the daily writings that inspire her work. Dreams, time and feelings are at the heart of her artistic process.
ANNE BOURRASSÉ : On instagram, on posters and on paintings you share your thoughts. How do these words come to you?
COCO CAPITAN : I try to follow a self-imposed rule: I have to write a certain number of pages a day, every day, even if I have no ideas, because it helps me stay connected to writing. And sometimes, thoughts that initially appear uninteresting become relevant with time.
A. B. : How do your quotes inspire your work as a photographer?
C. C. : I feel like my writing is the core for everything in my work, in my art practice. I have an idea and I start writing it down, then I come up with all kinds of notes. I think writing is the most fundamental tool for everything I do. Every time I write a small text or undertake a project, I spend days and hours writing down my thoughts. Writing them down allows me to examine my ideas more closely.
A. B. : “Think Harder”, “Lost Loser” or “How can you talk so much to say so little?”: Who are you writing to ?
C. C. : Sometimes I write to a specific person or about something I've noticed. It’s not about writing to just one person. I'm constantly reflecting, through writing, on the people I meet in my life. Sometimes it can even be a kind of commentary on a work of art, an art exhibition or other projects I see. I love writing rhetorical questions. They are not aimed at anyone, but invite the public to think with me.
A. B. : This TIDE issue is about resilience and dreams. You wrote “I had a backwards dream in which tall trees grew to become seeds”. Do you write about your dreams ?
C. C. : I write about my dreams almost every day. When I have coffee, the first thing I do is sit down and write at least four pages. That's my morning routine. Sometimes I write about my dreams. Sometimes I write about my projects. Sometimes I write about things that worry me. But I do love exploring my dreams. I feel like we don't pay enough attention to the subconscious. And I get a lot of my ideas from really looking at my subconscious. Much of my art is about images I have in dreams and want to explore further.
A. B. : Let’s talk about the form. “Clack” on white, sticks-shaped letters blending into each other…What led to this type of writing?
C. C. : I'm very dyslexic. When I first learned to write, I did most letters backwards. Then at school they teach you how to write properly and how to conform to a certain writing style. At some point, I just went back to the way I wrote when I was very young. I use it as a statement as I like to approach most things with the ingenuity and innocence of a child. This way of writing does indeed make a text more accessible. If you think about it, much of what I write is about questions and suggestions. Adopting an even more exaggerated version of the way I wrote as a child serves this purpose very well. It's very inviting.
A. B. : How did you go from notes to note paintings?
C. C. : In a way, photography is a reflection of reality. Most of the time, however, reality doesn't interest me that much. I'm more interested in the world of dreams, imagination or memory. And I feel like the way your head sees things or the way you think about fantasies is something that is almost impossible to capture in a photograph. I really started painting out of curiosity when I was at the Royal College of Arts studying for my Masters in Photography. It helped me find out how I would feel if I could represent my ideas or feelings in a more abstract way, without having to look at reality.
A. B. : Your text-based paintings address notions of disappearance and survival, especially in your West American project, but also in your series “Tic, tac as in the speed of time (2018)”. It’s interesting how they all relate to Time – past, present and future. Do you feel anxious about it?
C. C. : I am indeed very anxious about time. I'm very aware that our time through life is actually short. But I feel that we sort of live with this fake idea of immortality. People don't think enough about death. When they think about death, they think about it as this very sad thing, I guess because it's something scary to most people. I like thinking about death because it somehow reminds me that I'm alive. And I see it as a positive thing: trying to always think about the brevity of life. Perhaps I'd rather focus on the things that matter to me today than live with the impression that I'll be around forever.
A. B. : Talking about Time and Transmission: What does it mean to you to carry forward the dreams of a new generation of artists as the president of the Photography jury in Hyères?
C. C. : I love having a platform to discuss other people's art as much as my own. I don't necessarily see it as mentoring. That’s why I am very excited to spend time with the young photographers that we have selected for the next edition of the festival. It will certainly be a rewarding and fun experience.
A. B. : Who were your inspirations in writing and art? Who are your favourite authors?
C. C. : I read a lot of American literature and poetry. For instance, I love Geoffrey Eugenides, Susan Sontag, the poet Frank O’Hara, the Beat Generations with Allen Ginsberg and Patricia Heisman. The prose poem is something I really appreciate, maybe it reflects my way of writing. Generally speaking, I'd say I like easy reading. I like writers who are very direct and who don't decorate their texts too much. Simple words can surely get a more difficult message across.
Words
Anne Bourrassé
