UA:
What is a typical day in your job?
EB:I wake up quite early as I believe in
the saying “the early bird gets the worm”
and also because my mind functions better during the
daylight hours. Emails are preferably checked during breakfast
so I can plan my day and any last minute meetings. Then
I head to the office. I have always aimed to have an office/
working environment outside of home. I believe you need
to detach yourself from everyday life in order to be more
productive, and also be able to leave work behind when you
need to wind down in the evening. I am at my office by 9
am usually. According to what project I am working on at
the time, I start researching, designing and planning its
whole structure and materialization. Some days are totally
devoted to the creative part of the project, which consumes
a lot of mental energy. On those days I don’t like
to be distracted with the business aspects like budgeting
and finance as they drain creative energy. I try to devote
days solely for each part of the project.It is rare that
I stay at the office all day, I usually meet up with clients
and collaborators outside of the office in neutral environments
where we can both think without the influence of other projects
going on in my work space .I
prefer to have my meetings in the day, and leave work behind
at about 7pm unless I am working on tight deadlines.
UA: How did you get into your
role?
EB:I
was brought up in a creative environment and had decided
from an early age that I was going to be an artist. Becoming
a public artist was a natural evolution as my work was always
site-specific. I studied a BAhons in Public Art and Design
at Chelsea
and then followed that with an MFA in Theatre Design at
the Slade
School of Fine Art.
UA:What
skills have you come to rely on the most in your job?
EB:My
computer skills - video editing and web development.
UA: If you had to pick one positive and one negative
aspect of your job what would they be?
EB:The positive aspect is the freedom I
have to control who I am and what I do. The negative would
be the lack of financial security any freelancer has.
UA: Where would you like your work to
take you?
EB:Ideally evolve from what I am doing
at the moment, therefore to create larger in scale public
art projects.
UA: Is there any advice you would give students hoping to pursue
a career in this field?
EB:See
your profession as business. Follow the market and fill
in the gaps, and above all be brave.
audio
interview >> |
