Meet the Artists - Kate Anderson
About: Kate Anderson is an animator and illustrator telling stories through digital / analogue drawing, film and installation projection.
Her work process brings together observational documentary with subject research, peeling through layers of time she draws inspiration; seeing what familiarities, overlaps and juxtapositions are revealed. Kate aims to capture the experience of the individual, and how it may be forged by the environment they occupy. Within the domineering context of urban growth and modernity, she is keenly drawn to the rural landscape; it’s cultivation, subtle shifts of cultural heritage, the tussle between human and nature. Kate continues to develop her practice into the realm of non-linear, creative collaborations with sound artists and musicians; for audiences to experience beyond single screen cinema, be that in the gallery, expanded realities, or performance space. Clients include Kings College, The Migration Museum, Ensemble Molière and UCL. Kate studied animation at Edinburgh College of Art, and the Royal College of Art.
How do you describe your practice?
I am an animator and illustrator telling stories through digital and analogue drawing, comic strips, film and installation projection. My work process brings together observational documentary with subject research, peeling through layers of time I draw inspiration; seeing what familiarities, overlaps and juxtapositions are revealed.
What are your influences, what inspires you?
I have an ongoing project called ‘Meeting Trees’, in which I travel around Britain meeting heritage trees to draw their portraits, and discover the history and legends behind their renown. So, trees inspire me for one! As do folklore and traditional customs, heritage engineering, rural crafts, sustainable agriculture. I’ve just recently begun to appreciate the paintings and prints of John Piper, especially the scrubby ones through which you can almost feel the wind blasting and smell the peaty earth. Radio programmes Late Junction and Unclassified inspire by always offering up new sounds and ways of listening.
Where are you based and what is your background in terms of education?
I’m based in the Kent Downs, not far from Folkestone.
I studied animation at Edinburgh College of Art, and the Royal College of Art.
What does engaging with nature mean to you as an artist?
Our modern, convenience centered, urban lives have evolved to be far removed from the natural world. By creating work that engages with nature, I hope in a small way to spotlight the disconnect. It’s also greatly therapeutic; observational drawing is often my starting point, in which the simple act of sitting down and paying attention with all my senses creates a dialogue with the subject, tuning out distractions and engaging with heightened focus. With nature I find that drawing becomes a kind listening filter, as I try to keenly hear and interpret what it is saying.
What does it mean to be selected for the summer school?
The summer school is a unique opportunity to engage, develop and collaborate within a diverse cohort amongst a remarkable research setting. I was fascinated to learn about the 100 year old ‘natural laboratory’ at Alice Holt; the evolution of the project through time interests me, including the individuals involved historically, and their motivations. Would they have known it would still exist now, what would they make of contemporary forest research, and of climate change today?
I’m intrigued about the technology behind the data collection, which is quite new to me. I look forward to exploring this network of devices and sensors, its interactive and generative possibilities, to see how they might influence and adapt to a visual approach. The possibility of installing work in the forest itself is particularly appealing.