AWS Q&A With Artist Maddie Stringer

AWSFeature

11 Jan

Interview by Emma Grayson

Energetic and full of life is UK-based illustration artist Maddie Stringer, who recently made her way out of Camberwell College of Arts, UAL. Originally from Manchester, England, Stringer finds inspiration from the people around her. For someone with her whole life to live, she is enormously conscious of her impact on others and strives to do her research to represent her subjects carefully.

As a fierce disco queen and social activist, art has become her platform for change. She even pledged a portion of the proceeds from her latest series to a trans+ organization supporting a community she holds dear. She is used to standing up for what she believes in after realizing that a career in science, which was typical for her family of doctors, “sounded like hell.” It takes a lot of strength to be able to go your own way, and with a passion for the creative arts in general, there’s no saying where exactly Stringer may go. Read our interview with the artist for juicy bits on what she listens to in the studio to her take on a nightclub renaissance.

‘So Many Men (Collage Print)’
Maddie Stringer
Etching print
56x76cm
£200

AWS:

How old were you when you realised that you wanted to make art a major part of your life, and what were the outside influences that supported you in this?

Maddie Stringer:

Well funnily enough, I didn’t actually decide to pursue a creative path till my last year of college just before I began applying to universities - so I guess I was around 17 or 18 years old. Up until then I always thought I’d have a career in science, what with both my parents and my eldest brother being doctors and my other brother studying biochemistry, in my head a similar path was a given till I realised that actually sounded like my hell! Why an artistic path? I’m still not entirely sure, it just sort of felt right, I guess maybe a gut feeling?

AWS:

AWS: Take us through your process a little bit – what does a day in the studio look like?

MS: That would kind of depend on the day really! My process, or how I approach my work anyway, is very conceptual and narrative-driven; generally, for me to be able to confidently create, I need to have a reason why I’m making the work - what am I trying to say? What story am I trying to tell? Who am I making this for? This is why I love being a design-orientated practitioner, because there’s almost always some kind of brief to centre yourself to, otherwise I’ll just get stuck in a brain black-hole! But in regards to my actual process of making, A LOT of research goes behind each project as I really like to go into something feeling confident that I’m going to do a time period I’m referencing, or the community I’m representing, justice. In a sad turn of events, I don’t currently have a studio available to me since graduating, so the coffee shop down the road in East Dulwich has become my makeshift studio - lucky for them I’m only working on my laptop and not another print series!

*‘CHIQUEN TIKKA, TELL ME WHAT’S WRONG’*
Photo courtesy of Maddie Stringer

AWS:

For the 2021 Online Degree Show at Camberwell College of Arts, you featured ABBA’s music to advertise a fake vegan microwave meal, “Chiquen Tikka, Tell Me What’s Wrong.” First of all, as an ABBA fan myself, that’s brilliant! But I’m curious as to your relationship with music, do you have a favourite band or musician? And what do you typically listen to while in the studio?

MS: Ahh thanks so much! That project means a lot to me - I was raised on ABBA and so the fact that I found a way to base my entire graduate showcase around one of their songs is still pretty wild to me - I couldn’t have thought of a more ‘me’ way to finish off my time at Camberwell!

MS: Music plays a huge part in my life, it always has, one of my first memories is being sat in the car forcing my dad to play ‘First of the Gang’ by Morrissey on repeat! And if you go through my projects, even over the past year, you can see in nearly every one, music has played some kind of factor. Of course, the reigning genre in my art (and my life) is disco! While I’m working, if I’m not blasting one of my three different disco playlists, I’ll be listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac, David Bowie, Elton John, and my latest obsession - Self Esteem. Honestly, this was a very dangerous question to ask me because I could talk for hours about music, so I’ve really had to try and restrain myself here!

AWS:

If you could describe your work in three words, what would they be and why?

MS: Socially aware, camp and fabulous! All three reign pretty supreme in my life.

AWS: As a student at Camberwell, I’m sure you were exposed to the fundamentals of artistic practice, but in your studies, did you find any certain art historical movements or figures that you draw on for inspiration now?

MS: Honestly, I was pretty rubbish as a ‘traditional’ art student! I’m not super drawn to fine art or art history, and having studied on a design course, these aspects weren’t really pushed. I find myself being inspired by cultural movements rather than artistic ones, like, for example, I’m a lot more interested in the impact the opening of Heaven night club had on the progression of queer nightlife than, say, impressionism or post- modernism!

‘Chandler Bing vibing to Stringer’s work’
Illustration/Graphics by Maddie Stringer

Maddie Stringer with ‘So Many Men’ print and work
Illustration/Graphics by Maddie Stringer

AWS:

With your body of work, Pride Etchings, a percentage of profits went to “Not A Phase,” a UK charity organisation supporting the lives of trans+ adults. What inspired this generosity and how did “Not A Phase” become the charity of your choice?

MS:

Well, as the series was printed in the individual colours of the pride flag, I felt it was imperative that I give something back and not capitalise off the queer community - I felt that this was the least I could do, you know? I chose Not A Phase as they are doing some incredible work raising awareness and support for the trans community, and I wanted to try and support them in any way I could. Especially with the Washington Post just reporting the terrifying news that 2021 has been the deadliest year on record for transgender and nonbinary people. It’s incredibly tragic that this is the reality we currently live in, and stands as a painful reminder that we must continue to support the community with all our might, to make sure this reality doesn’t remain.

AWS:

MS:

‘Pint Size’
Maddie Stringer
160cm x 112.3m
£600
Available via the AWS website

AWS: I know it’s difficult for a young artist to imagine where their works might end up, but in a dream world, where do you see your works and how do you envision your practice evolving in the future?

GA:

MS: Wow, how much time do you have! I kind of want to do everything - magazines, music videos, film sets, advertising, writing - I’m constantly changing my creative outlook but the only thing I know for certain is that I want to develop my career in a commercial field. One day I would love to be an art director for a huge publication or directing my own pretentious perfume advert!

AWS:

And finally, what do you have coming up next?

MS:

Well I’ve taken the last few months since graduating just to focus on myself, the last 2 years have been really chaotic trying to finish my degree in the middle of a global pandemic, so I wanted to have a bit of time to just live. But I’m for sure back on the wagon now and ready to go full force! I don’t want to give much away but I’m definitely fingering a few pies…