Interview: Christopher Tandy
Christopher Tandy is a Queer self-taught artist and educator. As an anti-disciplinary artist, they adopt methods for creating and thinking that are rooted in Queerness and stem from a rejection of being defined by discipline and/or output. Their practice and processes are fluid, like the mercurial Queer space in the world around and in us. Through a combination of drawings, rituals, and experimental technologies, Christopher seeks to inhabit and invite into a place where the Eldritch is alive - a space where change is possible.
Bones, rusted bits, dead computers and detritus are scavenged and transformed with alchemical processes - creating a Queering - shifting the way these objects exist in reality and inviting the viewer into that shifted reality through sonic interaction. Sound and frequency become pathways to facilitate transformation in the cells of our bodies and brains. Transmitting experience of Queerness and creating a narrative that is not based on othering but on sharing.
Read our interview with Christopher below!
install view of The Raven Machine, Found detritus, bone, epoxy clay, grave rubbings, epoxy clay, quartz, amethyst, fluorite, LED lights, charcoal, computer, Ableton, microphone, speakers, and lava rock, 46 x 46 x 86 inches, 2022-23
PP: Walk us through a typical day in your studio or generally through your process to make new work.
CT: Everyday is really different depending on what’s going on in my brain or with deadlines. Sometimes I’m naturally more focused on one piece and other times I’m bouncing back and forth between lots of different stuff. I work with a lot of different mediums so things tends to change and shift a lot with my practice.
It’s hard to pinpoint where new work comes from, but everything for me, always starts with drawing. I’ll draw everything out first. It won’t always be exactly where I land, but I like some sort of map - some sort of idea of where I’d like to go, and then I just figure out what I need to work towards that.
There Will Be A Reckoning, Rusted steel, iron spikes, quartz, feather, looped film on iPad, brushed aluminum, 12 x 12 x 5 inches, 2024
Studio View
PP: What motivates you to make art?
CT: I think for me, making art is akin to breathing - it’s a way that I exist with and inside of this world. Really just existing as a Queer person on this planet motivates me to make art.
PP: What are ways you support other artists?
CT: I really enjoy organizing and curating shows - I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity a few times and it’s really just, rad to bring artists and their communities together. We get to learn so much from each other in those spaces - I always find that really inspiring.
Screaming Into The Grave, Graphite and charcoal on custom printed black paper, 17 x 11 inches, 2023
PP: Name a childhood toy (or memory/cultural reference) you had, that you think relates to your practice today.
CT: LEGOS. I’ve always loved a LEGO and since incorporating more sculptural elements into my practice - that influence has really crystalized.
PP: Is community something you value in your practice? Why or why not?
CT: Absolutely. I tend to think that the whole point of art is to move the needle a bit and the only way we get to do that is through connecting with each other and sharing our stories, our selves - and that’s really done in community with each other.
To learn more about Christopher’s work, see her Instagram and Website