Interview with Laura Keeble

Hi Laura, we saw a lot of your works recently on the street, internet, press, ... but not so much about you.
Could you please introduce yourself ? What's your background ?
Born Isle of dogs in the late 70's, lived in Chadwell Heath now live in Southend.
Have two stand up comics as children (10 and 3 years old)

Did you do any art school ?
Nothing until a year ago when I sent myself to embark on a fine art degree, felt like a homecoming had put it off for far too long.

The replica of the Damien Hirst piece "For the love of God" was fantastically well executed.
Was it your first stunt ?
No , The Queens hands was my first public installation.



I read that it took you one month to complete the sculpture.
How did the idea come up ?
The Damien Hirst "For the love of God" was for me, all about the experience and trying to contemplate standing in a room with an object that is worth £50 million, the security and theatricals of it all. When I created the skull install I wanted to take away the theatricals, the value, the experience that I had and see what the skull would look like without all the theatre. How would that reflect the experience I had? What questions would it raise? It was the only way I could envisage a realistic-like placement outside of security etc for the skull.



What was the motivation and how did you keep it ?
I had given myself a deadline, which was the day after the show closed, I knew that If I missed that deadline, the show backdrop would no longer be there and I would have missed the opportunity to create the installation the way I had imagined....it turned out the backdrop was better then I could possibly have imagined.

6522 Swarovski crystals used....any subvention ?
being able to replicate "for the love of God" as cheaply as possible. whilst keeping the aesthetics as true as possible.

Did you receive any feedback from Hirst or the White Cube gallery about your version of the diamond skull ?
Not from the White Cube



What are your inspirations for your works ?
Blimey anything really! I like the idea of provoking some kind of discussion or thought, and making a slight change in a situation that would normally be ignored or taken for granted.

Any favourite artist ?
Lots....Jenny Holzer, Cayetano Ferrer, Damien Hirst, Banksy, Hans Haacke, Adam Neate, Callum Innes, Rachel Howard, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Kelsey Brookes, Fiona Rae, Glenn Brown, Brad Downey and Antony Micallef ..I could go on and on there is so much great work.

Do you see yourself as a street artist ?
I see myself as someone who does stuff.
I dont see a difference between street artists and contemporary artists..its all contemporary, all about the now.

About the Graveyard installation, could you please tell us a bit more about it ?
It was the culmination of studies I had produced last year, regarding the marketing of religion.



That might be incredibly weird to "work" on a cemetery ?
It was peaceful, bar the school kids that cut through it at home time to get to the towerblocks. I love Graveyards there is something fascinating about headstones and the information they contain, they are possibly the last public representation of the person they oversee.



What' s your process ? Do you start on a studio you own ?
I dont own a studio, I do however own a wallpaper table which is very exciting as before the wallpaper table it was the dining table which caused all sorts of issues at dinner time.
I research like crazy then become a heavy mix of someone slightly obsessed and a bit emotional. I cant think of anything else until the work is finished.



Do you work alone ?
Well, being based in the dining room means that theres normally a hub of activity around me when I work..the kids like to add a bit of creative input! apart from that I work alone and when it comes to the installation, my sister is my driver and we spend the build up to the install giggling hysterically in a fit of nerves and daftness whilst listening to whatever newly discovered music we have managed to get hold of (normally resort to whatever Tricky album we can find... its like every install has a soundtrack lol!)

Do you also paint or draw on much more traditional mediums ?
I have been using paint on canvas over the year, but will use whatever I feel I want too, its good for me to engage with as many mediums as possible..keeps me excited and focused.

What are your "artistic" resolutions for 2008 ?
hmmm, more installation without a doubt. Its good to create changes in the environment, gets people away from the same old crap momentarily.
More sculpture and playing around with materials.

Will you bring your works on a gallery for a show ?
Maybe

more info on Laura's website:
http://www.laurakeeble.com/