Jade Cantwell
Australian videomaker
Interview: 10 questions
1. Tell me something about your life and educational background.
I studied film production at university, but focus most of my creative activities in photography. I lived for a year in Mexico which deeply influenced my creative practices – my love for the absurd and surreal in every day life.
2. When, how and why you started filming?
I started filming when I began my university studies, I hadn’t really had the resources to do anything before then. I was excited that it gave me a different way to communicate with people in abstract ways, to explore emotions and to express ideas.
3. What kind of subjects have your films?
My films generally deal with emotional conflict, memory and dreams – they are usually intentionally indefinite so that the viewer is given the opportunity to read and interpret each inflection and motion.
4. How do you develop your films, do you follow certain principles, styles etc?
My films don’t generally follow a set pattern and as a result are really varied – each project and each idea calls for it’s own treatment and it’s own technique. I like using film, video, animation and sound to create textures and different results that supplement the project and add another element to the final piece.
5. Tell me something about the technical equipment you use.
My technical equipment is usually whatever I can get my hands on – anything that’s available to me at the time.
6. The field of “art and moving images†(one may call it videoart or also differently) is is manifesting itself as an important position in contemporary art. Tell me more about your personal position and how you see the future of this field ( your personal future and the future of “art and moving imagesâ€)
I think the future of video art is interesting because it is a technology that is quite accessible to a large amount of people – we have created online communities and online cultural phenomenons on sites such as youtube. I am interested in what we consider video art and why – where is the line between someone’s youtube videos and an artists video art, maybe there is no difference at all.
7. How do you finance your films?
My films are generally financed by myself – by part time jobs, paid creative work and generous favours from friends.
8. Do you work individually as a video artist/filmmaker or do you work in a team?
I generally formulate my ideas on my own, but the action of shooting and completing a work require many hands and I usually call on my friends to help me.
9. Who or what has a lasting influence on your film/video making?
In terms of video art I love the work of Arthur and Corinne Cantrill, and ‘Rainbow Way’ by George Gittoes. But everything I see in terms of photography or patterns, or things I hear influence my ideas and my films, they are even pieced together from dreams or strange things I see in the street.
10. What are your plans or dreams as a film/video maker?
I would like to diversify my skills – I want to learn about animation and other effects that I can use in my film making. I am really interested in documentary at the moment – these stories that are so extraordinary that one can hardly believe they are real. I am interested in the way that people see and interpret the world – this is what most interests me now.