Eva Olsson
Swedish videomaker
Interview: 10 questions
1. Tell me something about your life and the educational background.

I was born 1962 in Sweden, educated and worked in the field of social service and welfare before desiding to make a change in my life. Went to a few pre-art schools in Sweden before starting my BA Fine Art at Falmouth College of Arts in the UK. Directly after I did my MA Fine Art at Norwich School of Art & Design in the UK. Moved back to Sweden after my Master degree in Fine Art year 2000.
2. When, how and why started you filming?

A few years after my Master degree I started to work with short animations, because my interest is in the drawing, movment and story-telling.
3. What kind of subjects have your films?

My works are philosophical reflections on everyday life and social issues in the modern western world. I’m reconstructing familiar situations to create new insights to become short animations.
4. How do you develop your films, do you follow certain principles, styles etc?

For me its important to try to have a concept or idea to work with. But often during the editing process new ideas and concepts accure that seems better than the original idea and therefore the work often take a slightly different route than planned.
5. Tell me something about the technical equipment you use.

I have an Apple Mac computer and using the software Final Cut Pro when editing my
animations. The images (drawings, photos) for the animation I am preparing by using Photoshop.
6. The field of “art and moving images†(one may call it videoart or also differently) 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 believe it has a great future.
Together with Jonas Nilsson, we are the co-founders and curators of art:screen which is a screening event and platform that showcases new, compelling, innovative and contemporary video art and moving image from Swedish and international artists. And we could see that the interest from other artists and institutions are just growing.
7. How do you finance your films?

So far only with private money.
8. Do you work individually as a video artist/film maker or do you work in a team?
If you have experience in both, what is the difference, what do you prefer?

Most of my work is made individually but sometimes I also do collaborate works with Jonas Nilsson.
I prefere to work individually but I think its good now and then to work with others, because it forces one to develop the way one explain ideas, thoughts etc.
9. Who or what has a lasting influence on your film/video making?

Nothing in particular. It can be many things but it often starts off with one idea that origins from something I have reacted to and develops from there.
10. What are your plans or dreams as a film/video maker?
To established myself as an artist, and to make a living of my work.