Kristian Evju
In March 2014 Mr Kristian Evju visited Lahore, Pakistan for an exhibition. I unfortunately didn’t get the chance to visit the exhibition and meet him due to some reasons, but later on i got an opportunity to talk to him on facebook, which turned out to be quite interesting. I have been thinking of sharing this chat with you guys for quite a time and hence the day arrived 🙂
I really like Kristian’s work due to its uniqueness, the way of execution and the ideas. To know more about him, his work and his stay at Lahore, Please visit below links.
Facebook
Twitter
Work
Stay at Lahore
Aroog Ayub
hi Mr. Kristian
Kristian Evju
Hi Aroog – how are you?
Aroog Ayub
am fine
What about you?
Kristian Evju
I’m good, thank you. In the studio working:)
Aroog Ayub
oops did i disturb u?
Kristian Evju
No, no worries:) What are you up to?
Aroog Ayub
right now? in office getting bored
last time when i contacted you after seeing pics of your exhibition I just wanted to know if you were still in Pakistan
Kristian Evju
I see – no, I was back in London by then. Spent a short 9 days in Lahore. Would have loved to stay longer, but alas…
Aroog Ayub
ahan.. that’s what i thought but just wanted to confirm
I really liked your exhibition
I mean the pics of your exhibition
u r the second artist I have seen who works in pencil
greatly n beautifully
Kristian Evju
Thank you Aroog -very kind. Shame you didn’t get to see them physically. Hopefully they might be on show in Dubai next year. Fingers crossed. Am working on a huge piece for a show in Berlin now, so if you plan a trip to Europe..
Aroog Ayub
i would love to ..
but lets see if can come up
if u don’t mind may I ask how huge it is?
Kristian Evju
Hehe – well, it is huge by my standards, so only 60×100 cm. The way I draw takes quite some time, so this is a large project for me;)
Aroog Ayub
yeah… i have checked the sizes mentioned on the pictures so i can guess it would be HUGE
if I am not disturbing you I have a question in my mind
can i ask ?
Kristian Evju
Of course you can:) Fire away – I needed a little break anyway.
Aroog Ayub
that’s great
when i saw your work i saw some girls n they looked highly realistic
how u did that?
I mean is there a technique u use or wat?
sometimes I feel they are photographs.. but yet they look like photos..
Kristian Evju
I see – well, I think there are several answers to that really. I like to work with photographic references generally, this means that I gather a lot of material as a research base before I even start thinking about what I will draw. Then I piece them together almost like a collage, but I don’t use glue or scissors, only a 6H pencil (Faber Castell). The reason they look photographic is largely because I use the whole range of pencils – 6B – 6H. That way i can get a very dark, creamy surface, and a very light, velvety surface right next to each other.
Kristian Evju
This is pretty much what photos are all about – high contrast:) So I try to make that happen
By finding the darkest point and the lightest point, I can concentrate on searching for the mid-tones.
The rest is just hard work and practice, practice, practice:)
Aroog Ayub
thanks for explaining
wat if the artist don’t have the patience?
cuz doing such work requires a lot of patience and finding that is some times hard
aint it?
Kristian Evju
Haha – patience is something you build I guess. What at first feels like impatience is quite often that we get tired of concentrating – so in other words a lack of stamina. Drawing is very taxing on the brain, so naturally it has to be exercised until it gets stronger and last longer. Having said that, i guess it is easier doing something you love – and then you don’t want it to be over quickly anyway;) Most things you enjoy doing is worth doing slowly
Aroog Ayub
i more question,
one*
when and how u realized that this is your passion ( if i am not wrong about u being passionate about ur work)
Kristian Evju
Hmm… passion is a very tricky concept here, because it implies some kind of strong emotion being sustained throughout the process. This does not generally happen, but when I know I am working on something good, everything else in life seems better. This does not mean that I am ever satisfied though – I think it is impossible to be properly satisfied with a work. All artists look for the next, better work I think. This is obviously a delusion of progress, but one that we have to entertain. I think the first realization of ‘passion’ came once I was able to impress myself a little, but also when it seemed the drawing took on a life of its own, and that way became something I hadn’t planned for or expected. A bit like a story with a surprise twist.
Aroog Ayub
i have few questions more
if you don’t mind me asking
Kristian Evju
Sure – a few more, then I need to get back to work:) Hehe.
Aroog Ayub
lolz
not a problemo
what if any of your work has gone bad
were u ever afraid of drawing again? because of that piece?
Kristian Evju
I think the way we deal with failure in all things is a very important question. To be able to make something good, one has to lose the fear of failure. I do this by making failure something harmless. In one way or another, every piece I make has some element of failure – and the only reason they work is that I manage to repair as much as possible so that the piece appears convincing. Don’t forget that all art is about deception as much as it is about anything else. This means that you can choose how you think and feel about a work as you are making it – to a certain extent anyway. I have failed so many times now, that I have constructed a very solid belief in my own ability to turn failure into something good, or at least interesting. This is important I guess. When you truly dislike something in a piece, it means that it still gets to you, so it’s about figuring out how to turn it to your advantage.
Aroog Ayub
wow
that’s interesting
did criticism ever bothered you? specially when u know that other person does not understand ur work?
Kristian Evju
I always take it into account. But it doesn’t mean that I let it change the way I feel about myself. All things are like mirrors to us, so I don’t expect anybody to see what I see in a piece. That would be arrogant and naive. The best I can do is to try to share something interesting, then see what comes out of it. I also have to think – ‘if this person saw this in my work, what is it that triggers it – and is this important to me?’. If it is, I can use it in my next works, if not, I forget it.
Aroog Ayub
did it ever happen to you that u were unable to transform whatever is in ur mind?
like an idea or something?
Kristian Evju
This always happens:)
Aroog Ayub
and how u overcome it?
Kristian Evju
I don’t believe it is possible to display thought in the first place, so I embrace the things that makes it different and new. We are not printers after all:)
Aroog Ayub
got your point so it means we always have to use references to express our thoughts?
Kristian Evju
Hmm… no, what I mean is that when you translate a thought into something physical, it will always be different. Our minds uses visual memories as a palette to paint our dreams and ideas anyway, and in that sense it is all about references interpreted in some way or another. So even if we work completely from imagination – and I sometimes do – we are using our long term memories from something we’ve seen and stored. There is freedom in this – it means you can use whatever you want to make art:) But I think it is important to realize that we always react to something, even our own drawings whilst we are drawing them – this means they will always evolve into something new and exciting.
Aroog Ayub
Hmm
so i don’t need to get frustrated when i am feeling like this
did u ever get frustrated over this ?
ever?
Kristian Evju
Hehe -I know what you mean. Frustration just shows that you care I think. Try turning it into something constructive? I am still working on this:) One thing I know – it never pays off to give up.
Aroog Ayub
so u always got to not-to-give-up
u know I have been dying to ask these questions
all the questions that i have asked
they somehow irritated me
i am relaxed now.
thanks for this.
Kristian Evju
Hehe – no problem. And please don’t take any of it as gospel. You have to find your own way:) Now – back to work for distracted artists
Aroog Ayub
sure i will try
and thanks again for your time
i really appreciate it
i hope i can ask more..
some times later though
Kristian Evju
My pleasure, Aroog. I might not reply right away, but I always try:) Thanks for the chat
Aroog Ayub
It was really a pleasure
thanks for your time
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