bitemagazine: FEATURED ARTIST | RIYO NEMETH A London-based art...
FEATURED ARTIST | RIYO NEMETH
A London-based art student originating from Tokyo, Riyo Nemeth explores the subtle nuances of our surrounding environment, particularly those that go unnoticed or those that are instinctively ignored. Incorporating a visual language composed of gradients, illusions and the splicing of the familiar with the unfamiliar, Nemeth’s developing practice reveals a structured approach towards materializing relationships between two-dimensional and three-dimensional forms. In formulating these notions with such simplicity, Nemeth provides an accessible platform from which a viewer may internalize and assimilate her pieces that often appear to exist in a vacuum or nonexistent space.
Riyo, Tell me a little about your practice. What are your primary concerns? Most of my works are based around my interest in people’s subjective and objective perceptions towards our surroundings. I’m interested in unfamiliarity within our common environment—how our automatic perception changes by a recognition of unfamiliarity within this environment. So I often try to create works which open up a possibility to see something set between familiarity and unfamiliarity within our environment.
Much of your video work reveals experimentation with the body in relationship with digital processes. What are your intentions in demonstrating these relationships? The body is a material which is visually relatable to everybody: it is universally identifiable. I often combine it with digital effects and try to interrupt the association of the expected result of our environment.
Could you explain your artistic process? Where do your concepts originate from, and how do they manifest themselves into a final piece? I’m interested in the starting point as an idea and an interest, before they get expanded, narrowed down or settled, they are still simple and instinctive, but straightforward. I often intend my work to be simple and honest, so I believe that the work itself can bring possibilities for continuation and elaboration.
Text: Ander Rennick
Full interview in BITE Magazine Power/02 Issue. Read online now.