X YPP Book

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• What can you tell us about your creative process? Where does your artwork start
and where does it end?
I am quite random at doing things. I never plan or puzzle over developing
narratives and concepts. My working process is like writing a diary — nI just
create different snippets every day, and then revisit them later , uniting them
into complete series of compositions in the form of an exhibition. My
background is animation, and I always appreciated the ability of a simple, even
stupid picture to say so much about life.
Once I’ve got an idea inos my mind, I take blank canvas, or a camera, or whatever,
and bring it to life. I can not say where my pictures come from, but usually I see a
complete image in my head. The most interesting thing is that a completed work
of art does differs from its idea. The process brings so many new things into it.
For example, solving technical problems always brings something new to the
picture because I tend to try something I have never tried before. I never work
on several works simultaneously. Usually it is only one painting or one video at
a time. After the work is done, I spend a few days just looking at it. Sometimes I
add something, sometimes not. It is simple, really: the work is ready when I start
to enjoy the result.
• Have you ever seriously doubted your choice to become an artist? (If so, what
stopped/reassured you?)
Of course. I question myself every day about what the hell am I doing and who
really needs my work. As I already mentioned, I went through some hard times
when I had no money and no hope for the future. There were times when, after
working on an exhibition for a whole year, I saw 10 people showing up at the
exhibition opening. At some point I decided to make art for myself. In the end,
it’s only thing I enjoy. I stayed honest with myself about what I was doing.
Without any big expectations, without any attempts to fit into some circles. Just
creating various stuff what I consider necessary for the moment. After some time,
people started noticing my work. I can now say that I am doing art not only for
myself, but for the people as well. There would be no Gordin without those who
appreciate and reflect on my way of thinking. But I am still not feeling secure
about either today or tomorrow. However, as I have already mentioned, l I am
inspired by my own fears and anxieties about what it means to be an artist.
• Do you find the Baltic art scene interesting? (What is your opinion about
Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian art? How would you describe their differences?)
I am not well versed in art theory. I usually just enjoy looking at an artwork
without digging into the geopolitical or cultural contexts. I am interested in all
kinds of art fields, whether they are Baltic, Scandinavian or South African. The
Estonian art scene and a country as a whole become more and more focused on
technology. Estonia now advertises itself as an ‘e-country.’ No doubt this reflects
on art as well. There are not many painters among the young generation of
artists. Our scene is becoming extremely oriented toward the new media. I am
sure that Lithuanian and Latvian art scenes are a bit more traditional. Art schools
are paying more attention to the basics of the craft and there are more promising
young painters. During the past few years, Estonia have expanded its contacts
with Scandinavian and West European art scenes, while Latvian and Lithuanian
scenes are still quite localised.
• How did the Young Painter Award influence your artist’s career?
After winning the the YPP competition I received a huge amount of attention.
I was bombarded with articles, interviews, and congratulations from numerous
colleagues. The Award helps you to believe in yourself, and realise that your
work can be appreciated on a global scale. But then you forget about it quickly,
just like most other people do. It is hard to see how the YPP affected my career
in a long run because it has been less than a year since I received the Award. The
first part of the year 2018 was crazy, I could not even handle the amount of
invitations to participate in various exhibitions. Surely the fact of being a YPP
awardee played a big role, because my name became quite visible everywhere.
Now that this PR tsunami is calming down, I still have to make plans for the next
year, after the YPP exhibition in Pamenkalnio Gallery (Vilnius). Generally, my
personal experience shows that any presentation of your work is good. It does
not matter whether you won something or not. You never know who will see it
and where it will lead you. Winning a big competition definitely feed your ego,
and it should not happen too often. When it happened to me, I took maximum
from this experience and realised the power of public attention.