We sat down with this month’s cover artist D.A. Orli to hear about some of his previous work and inspirations…
What is the story behind the cover?
My artwork is exhibited under the inscription: The Ersatz Museum, an assumed place that contains a collection of weird, bizarre and apocryphal artefacts. The box art, cabinets, prints, drawings and ephemera that I make are consequently ‘on loan’ from their collection. My work for the Ersatz Museum is commonly set in a bygone age, maybe the late Victorian/early Edwardian period when a plethora of patented inventions, useless mechanisms, strange ideas and exaggerated cures were rife. The vintage Circus of Life poster featured on this month’s cover, and created for the upcoming exhibition at Nottingham’s Surface Gallery, harks back to a time before mass media and our technologically saturated society. It was far easier back then to be entranced by the arrival of a circus, even though it may turn out to be not as fantastical as the poster proclaimed.
What inspires you as an artist?
It’s many things: an amalgamation of eclectic observations and interests, much like the artwork itself. While on the face of it my artwork may look surreal, magical or even romantic, the underlying principle is to explore themes such as mass consumerism, the ownership of history and how our past can be rewritten for political gain. It also refers to conspiracy theories, pseudo science and invented mythologies. Through humour, irony and the subversion of image and text I try to question what is the nature of ‘fake’.
While on the face of it my artwork may look surreal, magical or even romantic, the underlying principle is to explore themes such as mass consumerism, the ownership of history and how our past can be rewritten for political gain
Tell us about some things you’ve worked on in the past…
My 3D constructions are created from recycled and found objects, ranging from broken electrical equipment, old tools, toys, archaic fixtures & fittings, household packaging, and single use plastics. These are carefully taken apart, re-modelled, re-painted, textured and aged to complete the construction of each case. The use of this media was arrived at from working as a community carnival parade artist. With little or no budget, we had to use any materials we could find to create floats, costumes and displays. The consequence of this was that I became fascinated with how these refashioned objects took on a new life, suggesting an old relic, a forgotten machine or lost mechanism.
Do you have any tricks for getting started and staying inspired as a creative?
It’s a cliché but never follow trends, fashions and what the art world expects of you. If I could explain this any better, then I’d be a writer and not an artist.
If you could sit down and chat with any artist in your field, who would it be and what would you talk about?
I don’t think I would. Their own interpretation of their work may contradict and devalue what it was that first inspired me. Relating to my own creations, I am most fond of those that preserve their mystery and remain an enigma.
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
