GILDED BIRDS

Lakwena, artist, on the beauty of a religious artefact.

GB Tell me why you’ve chosen this.

LM I’ve chosen it because it’s an artwork but it has a practical use. It’s ergonomic – and how many artworks can you say are ergonomic? I’m really intrigued by it. I don’t know where it’s come from or where it was made. It looks looks like it’s been handmade. It’s quite rustic, but not intentionally so, that’s just the nature of how it’s been made. I can’t tell where it’s from. The painting inside is of white people. It’s typical Catholic iconography that’s been printed and applied to this wood, so it’s probably not very expensively done. It has this gold leaf effect for the halos. I think it’s really beautiful and precious and it fits in the palm of your hand. I got it for £1.50 from a charity shop so I’ll never know where it’s originally from, but I imagine there’s some country in the world where you go and they’re selling loads of these.

GB So instead of an iPhone in your pocket, your carry your bit of religion. 

LM Yes, exactly. I’m Christian but not Catholic and I just think it’s a beautiful thing.

GB Is it more beautiful for you because the images are hidden away?

LM Yes, and right now everyone’s in Venice for the Biennale and there’s that fever that you get in Frieze week where it’s all very public and very showy. There are these really wealthy people who’ve been told that it’s the thing to be seen doing, culturally. I’m much more excited about this because it’s something really private, really precious. It’s very accessible. I’d even let my kids play with it and they destroy everything – but it’s quite sturdy. The intention of it is not to impress everyone. It’s very much for an individual. But it’s art. It feels really counter-cultural.

GB Does it have any religious significance for you? Would you ever get it out and say a prayer?

LM No, I wouldn’t. I’ve always been a bit concerned about the temptation to worship objects and pictures instead of the person, but I’m increasingly interested in that Catholic tradition in terms of meditating and focussing on something. The iPhone is a very similar type of device, as you say.

GB I love the anti-consumerist statement of all the artwork being on the inside. It’s the opposite of branding.

LM I think I’m going to make one with my work on the inside. One thing I really like, is the fact that it’s made to be held. People often ask me about my favourite artist or painting and to be honest, the art that I’m most interested in is the stuff that we interact with on a daily basis, partly because my history is in graphic design. That kind of applied art excites me most. The Nike swoosh is iconic in itself, but the fact that people would cut it into the back of their hair? That’s voluntary. It’s so ingrained into our culture. I’m more excited about that than I am about a painting made decades ago that sold for five million at auction, even though I have a lot of respect for that. I like this object because you interact with it and it becomes part of your life. It doesn’t just sit on a wall untouched.

GB So, beauty seems to be quite intellectual to you. It has to have a cultural significance, so for you, this is beautiful because it’s disruptive. Does that mean you find manmade things more beautiful than nature?

LM I love nature. The older I’ve got the more I’ve realised how much I love nature. My husband does not like nature. Sometimes knowing someone with the opposite view can make you realise how much you love something. We live in the city but I crave nature. It doesn’t appeal to me to make landscape paintings but one thing on my bucket list is to grow a garden. 

GB I would have thought that a lot of nature was universally beautiful but your husband is just not interested?

LM No, he’s a city boy. I think he’s happy that I’m into it because he wants our kids to have broad horizons, but he was never introduced to it as a child. I think nature’s incredible and I just like looking at it. I don’t want to paint it because it’s beautiful as it is, but the kind of stuff I’m interesting in making is saying something, trying to tell a story. I love this icon because it’s comforting to hold in your hand. I enjoy holding it and turning it around in my hand. It’s not overly intellectual or conceptual. I’m fairly simple in how I approach stuff and this makes sense to me. It’s anti-digital.

GB And it’s not spying on you and sharing your data.

LM It’s not plugged in. My friend said the other day that the future is ancient. Her point was that as we get more and more online, the more appealing things like this are. We yearn for something tactile. I also get tired of doing the same thing and this feels like the opposite of painting murals, the opposite of drama. I’m very ambitious and I kind of want to take over the world. This is the opposite – it’s turning your back on all that. There’s something very humble and modest about it.

GB What makes something worthy of the word Beauty to you?

LM You want to look at it. I want to look at this. Holding is also something I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. Holding and beholding. Beauty is something that captures and holds your attention. I’m really enjoying just looking at this and holding it. I feel like there’s quite an anti-beauty thing going on in art. Beauty isn’t in the conversation – and yet we love beautiful things. A lot of women obsess over their make up to make themselves beautiful, so we’re really into it. And yet in art, which is supposed to be about our eyes and what we see, beauty has been totally taken out of the equation.