Maggi Hambling in conversation with David Baldry

so today we're in Magnus studio she's been busy this year and last year when she was in China since then like you what have you been doing what's the work that you've been doing and how does last year's film he showed the film War Requiem that we showed in Venice how does that relates to the current situation we find ourselves in do you think being far away from people in theory I think like many other people that any plan the size of the window that what was happening really do take me just forgotten but my initial reaction to it was a kind of fury nothing I thought was going to happen was scared came to happen and said this pains you near the best ones always paint themselves responsible was interesting that this is one the first one you did during that period and you know talking to people you get the sense that we've all become quite introspective because we've all been locked up you know maybe we wanted to or people are our own do you think you've become more inward looking as a result I think someone could maybe look at a painting and respond to it as much as the artist in the first place has responded to the subject and say it's a lot a question I agree with what because you couldn't go to New York or Lisa painting couldn't go fishing and doing things completely one's control you see I think really so you're gonna show some more great [Music] you're left a bit magnetic notes excrete hey that's good that's not too bad so this this April April the virus the creeping grains each side ever presence of the virus in trying to invade if not taken over the space the blossom of the magnetic because well around us the spring the spring the spring will flowering the growth of the jory but we have a prison therapist and things about that conflict that contradiction of the situation we found ourselves in you know joy spring and get the stretch and so that's why the space interesting that this will kicked off in that moment in the springtime and we have had some extraordinary weather since that point do you think it would have been a whole different situation had it being November and we'd got to get through those doll is not happening in February there's more people in February [Music] try to imagine how it feel search breath this this thing we take for granted has been taken away and so I try to imagine myself very much it came just like that in STEMI and I don't think I could have painted it and they say having made all the studies of my father an extra-tropical for the last two weeks of his life as he was gradually diminishing right and I sat with my sketchbook next to the bed and made the drawings so the three works you've shown so far talked about Maggie but they're quite eclectic in in in I'd suppose you'd say three quite different subjects is that typical of the way you work do you jump from one thing to another in that way or is this again a product of these slightly unsettling times [Music] did you paint your father completely from memory I mean the specific painting is that is that your father I tried to imagine myself in the condition of having the coronavirus and how it would feel yeah desperately trying to breathe which is something it's called morning morning the unit to that enormous creature happens when someone you love dies the right-hand one I think again has fury because that's the other thing if you and somebody died it might ease and it also makes you feel intensely alive you feel full of energy you feel sexy and all these things because you're alive and the other person has died it's all quite stranger than the girl to do with God I think it's quite strange that many of us go to church but but people still want to get married in churches funerals are in churches baptisms are in churches and at the worst moments of life people find themselves praying so this the girl is though there are presence or not do you believe in God I'm an optimistic doubter I must say when I was stopped from breathalyzed on the way back from [Music] [Music] [Music] it's obvious I have to tell you that just at the moment I'm in conflict with the birds we've got a cuckoo who lives at the end of a garden and at 3:20 this morning it started Sicily I mean this seems Maggie I mean I'd say that slightly more joyous painting than the previous ones you talk about the birds and the dawn chorus and you know here in your studio and we've just been out in your garden you're surrounded by nature and seems to me particular think the pink seems they seem very optimistic somehow about you know as maybe as humans we are we will we will thrive we will survive we will move out of this we will see the next very memory of shocking pink Red Sox in 60s and either break even a screen or break shopping big and before that it has a trial these really sexy packets of underwear [Music] [Music] the newest chips to arrive at paint painting for me the rest of the time ones producing absolute it's called bad what do you think [Music] you got and rush your pants on seasonings so are there any publishers that have coming out of are these worth conceived of diptych so do they start with one and they're not bad it's about the Sun there is some light the beginning and wonderful chaotic sound under the door so it's very likely [Music] [Music] so looking forward looking forward to the time when we can all go out to play I once again you know in the way that we used to is there one thing that you want to do and also not letting sloughing does is it or does it just remind trying to paint the sound of a laugh as it happened since rows all care to the wind I mean because the most disastrous thing that happens and everything a very short world without I think everyone's gonna have one big hug it's gonna be a big hug you bring so much

Channel: caroline wiseman

Views: 3,188

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: ALIVE in the UNIVERSE, Caroline Wiseman, Aldeburgh, Venice, lookout, ALIVE in LOCKDOWN, lockdown, venice biennale, Maggi Hambling

Id: w4E6MbO18ms

Length: 30min 10sec (1810 seconds)

Published: Sun May 24 2020