Interview with Tessa Farmer
Tessa Farmer was born in 1978 in Birmingham and lives and works in London. She received both her BA and MFA from the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University. In 2007 she was artist in residence at The Natural History Museum, London resulting in the exhibition ‘Little Savages’. Beth Bramich interviews Tessa Farmer for NVA.
You have been developing your works featuring fairies and insects since 1999. Can you briefly explain the origin of your interest in fairies?
It began with the study of human anatomy, which was part of the first year of my BA course. In order to understand the skeleton three dimensionally I began to construct skeletons from twigs and branches which I thought lent themselves well to being bones. I’ve always been an obsessive perfectionist, and I challenged myself to see how small I could go. As a child I was rather enamoured with Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies (first published in 1923) and I think this influenced the birth of my first fairy (the first of the skeleton fairies) as it came from a red tulip, that was quite womb like. The fairy was like a small foetal skeleton, the size of a mouse.
Each of your works is hand crafted and unique, despite the gruesome nature of the scenarios that you depict they are also beautiful in their meticulous detail. How do you site your practice between the areas of craft and art?
I haven’t really considered this, as there seems to be much more crossover between the two these days, with more importance now put upon the processes of making and the power this can give an artwork. I recognise that elements of my practice overlap with craft techniques, but I view the process of making as inherent to the practice as it provides thinking time. I always work surrounded by a lot of materials, and by observing and working with them new ideas can develop. The repetitive process is also cathartic, it can be exhausting, but it takes me to another place. I feel a bit uncomfortable comparing art and craft, as I think art has a habit of looking down on craft, which is unfair.
Your works have been described as depicting ‘dystopian’ scenes but you often take inspiration from nature, in particular drawing on your research into the habits of parasitic wasps. Is your audience just being naïve when they are shocked by the behaviour of your creatures?
Naive is a bit harsh! I suppose the fairies’ behaviour is shocking firstly because they are fairies, but not as most people nowadays know them, and secondly because people are generally unaware of the constant dramas of life and death occurring all around them. Nature seems to offer endless wonders and possibilities; I am fascinated by the way life adapts to survive in every niche on the planet and by what still hasn’t been discovered.
I’ve always looked at things closely and focused on detail to the point of obsession.
And then I realised that not everyone has the same level of appreciation. As I have begun learning more about insects, which I began doing at university, I found it so fascinating that I wanted to share that knowledge. Since my residency at the Natural History museum I go back in quite often and draw from their specimens and feed off their knowledge. The entomology department is such a great resource; the expertise and knowledge of the people that work there is amazing.
Sadly, as the most common reaction to insects is one of repulsion, many people do not take more interest in their often incredible lives. Parasitic wasps, for example, are largely unknown by the general public, and the initial reaction to their mode of survival is one of disgust, but I find it enthralling, even ingenious that these minute insects have evolved to survive in this way. From an anthropomorphic viewpoint it is very resourceful behaviour, which is why the fairies adopted it. Aspects of them are truly beautiful; such as the silken cocoons the wasp larvae spin around themselves, attached to the shell of a caterpillar.
You often make reference to art and literature on the subject of fairies, notably you have taken inspiration from Michael Drayton’s 17th Century poem ‘Nymphidia’. Couldld you talk about how you choose your source material and why giving them three-dimensional form is important to you?
Largely I take inspiration from the first book I read about fairies by Katharine Briggs. In reference to Drayton’s poem I enjoyed the scale and context of the world he was depicting, the fairies were insect sized and using the animals and insects around them in their lives- to pull carriages, to build architecture, to eat and to ride on. In my own work the fairies often use larger creatures as vehicles.
The narrative of the fairies plays out in my mind most of the time and I try to make concrete aspects of this world. Working three dimensionally makes them more real, more alive. The history of fairies and insect nature are interconnected so I want my fairies to appear to exist in a context they can survive in. It is important to me that things are believable. It’s a bit crazy but I want it to be as convincing as possible, so the scenarios have to be realistic.
Your dioramas are extremely complex and your protagonists are rapidldly shrinking. By working in miniature the truly remarkable nature of your creations can only be seen through close observation, is your aim to encourage a greater level of curiosity in your audience?
Exactly, and I hope they are rewarded for looking. The scale is also a result of me challenging myself to see what was possible - I like a challenge. In the past there have been magnifying glasses available to view work, but I have found that they are too prescriptive and I want people to view the work with the naked eye as well, otherwise you lose the feel of a whole piece. I generally spend as much time as I have on a piece, and it often feels unfinished as there is always more detail I want to add, maybe time limits are beneficial otherwise I would never finish anything!
Are you very hands on with your installllations or can you trust others to work from instruction to recreate your works onsite?
Very hands on and a control freak! I don’t trust anyone else to do it.
You have created a number of site-specific works; do you prefer to work in this manner, with your audience encountering your work in situations outside of white walllled gallllery spaces?
I definitely prefer interesting spaces, and for the work to relate to the space as much as possible - partly because I feel a bit uncomfortable viewing the work as ‘art’ and I like to present the fairies and their world as if they are real, rather than as a piece of art in a white cube. It’s important for me to play with a site as much as I can. My work is not overly planned before I enter the space and it can completely change in response to the environment. For ‘House of Beasts’ my work was shown in greenhouses where I worked with slugs and snails, the fairies became a kind of pest. In another show in a curiosity shop that sold taxidermy animals, which had a small museum and a gallery space, the materials I use tied in nicely with the nature of the place.
The different sites allow me to be ambitious with the installations. I would like to do something outside in the future. In one exhibition the fairies were shown in a Perspex case in a grotto without a roof. The grotto became a part of the work and the cave became a backdrop that the viewer could peer into through the case. It was an interesting experiment, as I found that the fairies survived but the insects didn’t.
You work is often led by serendipitous finds by yourself and others of both deceased animals and insects, how does this element of the random effect the direction of your practice?
It makes it more exciting- I never know what will turn up, and I love learning about new animals or insects that I find or others bring to me. This way of working probably makes me quite short sighted in terms of the development of the fairies and their world, but it is more exciting, for me at least.
As you have an intensely hands on approach to your work wouldld you ever commmmission an artwork to be produced for you?
I am currently developing my knowledge of taxidermy, but I am still learning and find some things too challenging. I had a swan taxidermied professionally for my latest work in ‘The Coming of the Fairies’, but I then adapted it myself to the fairies’ needs. I wouldn’t want to go further than this though, ideally I would do everything myself.
How did your collllaboration with Amon Tobin leading to the exhibition ‘Control Over Nature’ come about and what did you find inspiring and challllenging about working in response to his musical compositions?
I was approached by Amon’s record label who introduced us and we kept up an email correspondence. I listened to an unfinished version of the album and began to make work in response to this. I found it challenging, as there was a real risk for both of us in me interpreting his work. He was very particular which I understand completely but collaborating in that manner was different to what I am used to. It was quite intense but really good for me to have this long dialogue and for him to be honest about what he wanted. In particular he was very specific about how he wanted the work photographed for it to appear on the album cover.
The Crypt exhibition worked really well. The way the work was displayed allowed for an interactive experience for the audience who were able to explore the spaces. I was worried that things would get damaged but I felt that it was perfect. I think we were both happy in the end and might collaborate together again.
You were selected by Charles Saatchi to appear in Newspeak: British Art Now, how do you see yourself fitting in with the contemporaryart scene in this country?
There was a very broad range of work in the exhibition. I was happy to be included but I didn’t feel a strong connection between my practice and the other work shown. Also the space was so big, once I moved my piece into the gallery it seemed tiny. Because of the exhibition touring internationally ‘Swarm’ is the one piece that other people have to install because I cannot travel to all the different galleries. It is great that the piece is being shown in Australia but I’d like to have made sure that all their arms and wings were intact.
Do you intend to work further with animation as seen in your exhibition ‘Nymphidia’?
Animation is something I have been experimenting with since I first started making the fairies, shooting them on super 8, although I struggled with the technology. Sean Daniels, who I have collaborated with on three animations, studied photography and filmmaking so he knows how to frame them and also how to create natural motion. I have learnt a lot from him. It still feels like quite new process, which we are exploring. We have talked about making a feature length, aiming for an hour-long film in the future.
What are your ambitions beyond your current solo show ‘The Coming of the Fairies’?
This has been a really good year, it has been very busy with exhibitions but I am running on empty a bit and also running out of insects. In January next year I am going to Chile as part of an expedition with an entomologist who is based at the Natural History Museum. I’m so used to British insects Chile will be completely different. I most interested in observing the insects in their natural habitat, as obviously all the specimens I work with at the Natural History Museum are already dead. Going to an exotic and strange place will hopefully mean that the fairies can learn lots and perhaps become even nastier!
