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Dagens Nyheter - Published 27 September 2007 - English Translation Everyday Life’s Motifs Text: Pernilla Ahlsén Today a lot of new exhibitions opened. One exhibition not to be missed, is 28 year old London-born Kate Lyddon, who is exhibiting her new collages at Galleri Anders Lundmark, the private view opens tonight. Kate Lyddon’s style is naïve and she draws often humorous, but also poignant and sometimes quite alarming pictures with motifs taken from the everyday. She says herself that it is an exhibition about people, and about how people find their own ways to live in the world, and with each other. -There is an autobiographical element to my work. I am inspired by things which happen to me and my friends. Often a feeling, emotion or an experience can lead me to think of a song and then it develops into a picture. Sometimes I might start singing a song just because I’m really thinking of the words in that song. For example when youre trying to make something exactly right whilst singing “its got to be perfect”. Or when waiting for the bus whilst singing the theme tune from Dawson’s Creek, says Kate Lyddon. The people in the collages can be people she knows, remembers, has obsereved or has imagined, and sometimes they are people she wouldn’t want to meet. The way they are drawn are a little reminiscent of Jockum Nordström, while their surroundings could be borrowed from Francis Bacon. -They are artists which inspire me aesthetically. But conceptually I get more inspiration from music and from everyday life, says Lyddon. The artist and editor for the internet magazine Omkonst, Susanna Slöör, wrote once that Lyddon’s art made her think of PJ Harvey. -I heard someone once describe it as rock and roll, says Lyddon. My mum said once that “it’s a bit grotesque”. I hope that the viewer is both engaged by the aesthetic and also can reflect on the underlying meaning. I hope that people see the humour and honesty, I don’t want it to be pretentious or inaccesible. Kate Lyddon grew up in Brighton, but lives and works in the artist’s area, Hackney in east London. But she has also studied for a couple of years at The Royal University College of Fine Arts in Stockholm. -I had a long distance relationship with a Swedish guy from when I was nineteen. Once when I was visiting Stockholm I visited the college and I loved the location and space, so I applied for a place as a guest student. By the time I was accepted we were no longer together but I couldn’t miss the opportunity, so I went anyway. The year in Stockholm gave her a chance to study contemporary art. Earlier she had studied at a more traditional school in Canterbury. The lecture program there was based more on art up until the 1960s. -Coming to Stockholm was new and exciting. The art I saw being made there was not uptight and formal like I had been used to. It encouraged me to move away from the old romantic views of painting, and to try to make art which was in my opinion more honest and accessible to the viewer. Today Lyddon has her own studio at home in her flat. She mostly works at night. -There is something releasing about working when everyone else is asleep. You can be more introspective when you don’t need to communicate with anyone else. It feels like I can think a bit deeper and be more expressive when no one can see me. She often works to music such as The Smiths, Engelbert Humperdink, or the Ink Spots. But she also makes her own music, and sings and plays ukulele with the music band, The Crisps. They are going to perform some songs later at Kate’s private view tonight. -I don’t realy like private views to be too stiff, so I thought it would be good if the band played since also it is related to my work. Are you big in London? -I would say more like small to medium. We have only been playing about a year and follow the idea that anyone can play music if they have a bit of rhyhtm. Now we play about twice a month. We recently decided to just play acoustic with nothing plugged in, and that’s what we will do tonight at the private view.
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