ROY Presents: Isabel Zeng | River Berry | Margaret Hull
Between Us
ROY asks
What is your name and what pronouns do you use?
Isabel Zeng, she/her/hers
How has art (whether it be your own or art in general) changed you?
I see the life, people, and the world around me differently because of art. Marianna Simnett once described her artistic purpose, “… I seek or make apparent the impossible gulf between my pain and someone else’s pain, or my lack of pain and someone else’s pain, my imagination of what that pain was.” This statement comes very close to my own understanding of embodiment and its ability to evoke empathy. I want my artwork to be a medium for one to open up and communicate with their own body, that is, to be vulnerably truthful to their own life stories, to themselves.
How did you start your artistic practice?
I started my artistic practice in the area of jewelry and metals, and gradually moved into performance and video areas.
When a first-time viewer sees your work, what is the first word that you hope they think of when looking at it?
The reality is I don’t necessarily want my viewers to think of any word when they see my work. When you formulate a word, you approach the artwork intellectually. My artwork promotes a somaesthetic experience to the viewers, rather than having them necessarily interpret the work.
ROY asks
What is your name and what pronouns do you use?
My name is River Forest Berry and my pronouns are she/her.
How has art (whether it be your own or art in general) changed you?
Art has been a huge part of my life since I was a child. I grew up sewing with my grandma and that has become an integral part of my art practice. Art has been a healing force throughout my life as well, guiding me through chaotic times.
How did you start your artistic practice?
Aforementioned sewing with my grandma sparked a lasting relationship with the medium of fiber. Inspired by her, I chose the creative path. Along the way I discovered printmaking and was able to study that as well as fiber and art history in my undergrad at the Columbus College of Art & Design. During this time, I developed an artistic practice based in research, personal experience, performance, craft, and printmaking.
When a first-time viewer sees your work, what is the first word that you hope they think of when looking at it?
Intimate. I want the viewer to know that I’m sharing deeply personal experiences and aspects of myself.
ROY asks
What is your name and what pronouns do you use?
Margaret Hull, she/her/hers
How has art (whether it be your own or art in general) changed you?
Art has made me value community as a vital means of support. I have found community in every place I have lived by meeting and developing relationships with other artists. As an independent introvert, I was surprised to learn how much I needed other people around me to inspire and sustain me and how much I needed to reciprocate that.
How did you start your artistic practice?
I’ve been making things as long as I can remember. When I was a child, I drew a lot of geometric patterns and said that I wanted to “make designs” as a future profession. This is honestly not that different from what I do today. Though most often I design garments, I also use pattern as a tool to explore the history of textiles and the ongoing effects of cultural appropriation, for example. I did not consider myself an artist until a couple of years out of college, when I had a studio space in my apartment and was making art outside of an academic context. I have continued my practice for the past thirteen or so years.
When a first-time viewer sees your work, what is the first word that you hope they think of when looking at it?
care