Sophie Ashdown

In my recent tutorials with Jonathan, a big part of our conversation focused on my interest in working with data.  So far I have approached it in a very structured way, mapping it carefully and trying to represent it clearly. I think this reflects my background in IT, systems, project management, and process improvement.

However, the suggestion was to lean into those strengths while also allowing wider interpretation and more ambiguity. Rather than presenting data in a way that looks like something generated by a computer or infographic, the work could respond to the feeling or qualities of the data. Maybe using something as simple as colour, repetition, or layering could become a way of translating and engaging with the information rather than directly visualising it.

So how can I move beyond simply representing data towards something more interpretive and artistically open?  Jonathan and I have talked many times before about me trying to be more “free flowing” with my art practice, but that just doesn’t seem to be who I am as an artist, although I still feel a desire to make it happen.

Jonathan introduced me to the idea of “warm data” from Nora Bateson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8tTax7ad9g, which is data that is interpreted and embodied rather than strictly mapped, which opened up some interesting possibilities in my mind. (Warm data and relationships/contexts: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvrTFgOPAgc)

So far I have translated data very specifically, but can I interpret it artistically without being so literal?  This is something that I really need to think hard about.  Especially as I have the opportunity to work with some corporate companies to make art based on their data.  I want the outcome to be a piece of art on its own regardless of the fact that it is based on data, so can I do that by balancing the technical and the artistic sides together.

This is where I need to find that junction between the two sides of my brain that seem to often be in conflict, but can occasionally have a beautiful moment of clarity where they are both celebrated.  This is where I want to get to.