Artist Interview: Rachael Jablo
Today I’m also sharing an interview with Rachael Jablo whose work is on display at the Pop-Up Show until Saturday! We are so pleased to have Rachael in the exhibition, if you’d like to see more of Rachael’s work, take a look at the links below.
What is your background? Perhaps you could briefly introduce yourself and your practice?
I’m a US-American artist from Texas and California with a background in analogue photography whose work combines cameraless photography techniques with analogue collage. I also do some performance-based work, and in 2013 published my photography book My days of losing words with Kehrer Verlag.
Have you shown any work at The Ballery before?
This pop-up is my first time exhibiting at The Ballery. Thanks for inviting me!
What made you apply for this call?
A friend posted the call on Instagram, and I liked that the gallery has a queer sensibility.
Why did you choose to submit the work that you did?
This is work that I made during lockdown, part of a series of posie collages I created from the pre-germ-theory flower medicine. It felt right to show this as things are opening up again, and felt a bit more hopeful and protected. It hasn’t been shown before.
What are your biggest influences?
I’m inspired by flowers and gardens and textiles as well as medieval altarpieces and 70s feminist art. So much stuff.
In which ways has living in Berlin shaped your work or practice?
I moved here from San Francisco, where I had no space whatsoever, and so when I moved to Berlin, I could actually afford a studio that had enough space to make some bigger work. It changed my entire way of making art. I started working in collage and installation, and it’s been wonderful.
What other artists do you like, are there any other Berlin-based artists you are interested in?
I’m inspired by all of my friends around me who are working artists, as well as so many who have come before me: Anna Atkins, Ana Mendieta, Judy Chicago, and Adrian Piper (who lives in Berlin now).
Have you ever been in a group show before?
Many! I’ve been a practising artist for a long time.
What’s the experience like for you?
It depends on the gallery and the artists. But usually it’s a time to meet new people and be a part of a creative vision that’s not completely mine, which is interesting at the very least.
How do you feel about exhibiting work online instead of in a space?
It’s still new to me! I’ve been selling work online just for the past year or so, and it feels a little foreign, without the direct relationship that showing someone work in person has.
What is your approach to pricing your work?
My work is fairly labour intensive, and so I price it to incorporate both the cost of the materials as well as my time/labour.
What are you looking for from an exhibition, besides selling work?
Meeting people within the art community, from other artists, curators, to potential collectors. Creating dialog about art.
Do you ever get nervous about showing work in an exhibition?
I am never nervous about the work being shown; I do get nervous about talking about the work.