Interview: Paul Segers
Luca Curci talks with Paul Segers during THE EXTENDED BODY 2020 at THE LINE Contemporary Art Space.

Paul Segers (Eindhoven, The Netherlarnds, 1976) is a visual artist working in the fields of sculpture, performance, drawing, video and public installation. His work often deals with the tensions between history and progress in a hyper-technological age, mobility and the role of the machine in society. Segers graduated at the sculpture department of the Academy of Fine Art & Design AKV St. Joost in ‘s- Hertogenbosch in 2000, and earned his MFA at the Dutch Art Institute in 2003. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. Segers is also a teacher at the Fine Art Department and Research in Immersive Storytelling program at the Academy of Fine Art & Design in Breda and ‘s-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.

Luca Curci – What is art for you?
Paul Segers – Art is the place where the hidden parts of life can be approached with sincerity.

LC – What are you currently working on?
PS – I’m currently working on a new video work with my alter ego Bullet Head. We will shoot material for a large scale video installation sometime in the near future, after the crisis.

LC – What’s your background? What is the experience that has influenced your work the most?
PS – My background is in the visual arts. I started as a sculptor and moved towards performance and video along the way. I like to work with various media to approach the images and ideas from different perspectives. The experience that influenced my work most, especially in my earlier years as an artist, is a night in the woods with close friends, forming my first gang of weirdo’s under the stars.

LC – Where do you find your inspiration?
PS – I find inspiration in the canon of postmodern fiction and thought, in the everyday life and our global situation, in the works and approaches of fellow artists. Our fascination for technology and the use of machines is also a source of inspiration.

LC – What is your creative process like?
PS – The idea will start for example with a sentence from a novel, an image I see or a concept. I will then start forming ideas and images in my head over a period of time, letting it all sink in a bit. Then I will start drawing and sometimes writing. I collect images from the net that have a connection to the idea. I will make collages to capture the idea in an image and set the general feel of the work. Then I will start physically building whatever needs to be built, or I will start organising the things I need for a performance or video shoot. The process changes according to the chosen medium for the work or idea.

LC – What is the most challenging part about creating your artworks?
PS – I challenge myself in most works, either conceptually or practically, to be able to surprise myself. I improvise and perform in performances, make sculptural works that are technically challenging for me, or will try out ideas that I haven’t gotten my hands around yet. In general, the most challenging is to imagine something in your head and to then see it materialised in reality.

LC – Are your artworks focused on a specific theme?
PS – My works focus on the human condition in a highly technological and media-saturated society. Within that broader theme, a lot of possibilities present themselves.

LC – What is your idea about ITSLIQUID Group?
PS – I think ITSLIQUID Group is an active platform with a large audience that focuses on showing artists’ work in various contexts, both online and offline.

LC – Would you suggest a collaboration with us? What do you think about our services?
PS – I would definitely suggest a collaboration with ITSLIQUID Group. A large audience and a professional approach are key qualities in any good cooperation.

LC – Do you think ITSLIQUID GROUP can represent an opportunity for artists?
PS – I think that ITSLIQUID Group can definitely represent an opportunity for artists in exhibiting their work and digitally representing it. Networks and connections can be made that further broaden the possibilities of artists.