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Born in Jakarta in 1983, Yana Poppe grew up in the Netherlands from an early age. She holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts and is a figurative painter inspired by the urban environment. Yana's paintings have been sold in the Netherlands, Japan and Hong Kong. Exploring unknown places challenges her to re-think her various perspective on things. Japan has been a long-time source of inspiration. After having studied Nihonga painting in 2011, she went back several times to, among others, participate in artist in residences. This year Yana has been selected for an artist in residence program in China and Peru. Having always stayed in or near urban environments, this year's residency in the Peruvian Amazon will be a new experience. Traveling gives Yana the opportunity to develop and deepen her art practise.
Published January 9th, 2020, Interview responses collected in the months prior
What projects are you working on right now?
At the moment I'm documenting my short trip to Hong Kong last July in an accordion notebook. The evening before my arrival citizens at a subway station in Hong Kong had been attacked by alleged triad gangsters. At that time I was stuck in an unhealthy environment. Thanks to the amazing support from fellow artists, friends and strangers, I felt empowered and I still feel thankful for this experience. My artistic freedom was at stake and the situation in Hong Kong had a big impact on me. These two things mutually intensified each other in such a way that once I got home, I fully embraced the urge to start this project. The notebook consists of mainly dialogues with my friend from Hong Kong, intertwined with ink drawings based on photos that I took during my stay. I'm home for one month before I'll go to my next art residency, therefore I only focus on this project. A project from earlier this year is on hold. It's hard to tell what I'll be working on two weeks from now.
How do you keep yourself accountable in your practice?
Once a year I make a few goals that are usually practical and doable. Much more organically I try to stay aware of things that might be worthy of a future project or experiment. This can occur during the process of making a painting, but can also be inspired by external factors as is the case with my project about Hong Kong. After finishing a project or residency I usually assess what I've learned, what new inspirations I gained and so on. Before making a choice, I try to argument this in regards to my long-term goals. Furthermore, I share my paintings and other art- related matters on social media and my website. I feel responsible for the things I share with people. I think it's common sense to be held accountable for this, to a certain degree.
How do you stay motivated to pursue your creative work?
Truthfully, I have no difficulty staying motivated and I'm also easily inspired. There are so many things I still want to learn and experience, I probably need several more lives to realize these. Only once I've lost motivation. It was a good lesson, and since then I've developed ways to keep motivated, even during the time that I had no artistic freedom. Setting goals helps me to stay focused and keeps the motor running. But, trying to believe in myself and my dreams is probably the main force of why I can keep going on. Actually, I think that many things are possible if you are creative. I have to admit there are many times when I thought of quitting. Deadlines usually take a big toll on my health and the pressure in general is something unpleasant. But as long as I find meaning in making paintings, I'll continue to do so. From experience, anything less quickly bores me and even seems to exhaust me. Lastly, through my art practise I feel as if I navigate through life in quite a conscious way. It teaches me a lot.
Where do you hope to be 10 years from now and what would you like to say to yourself?
I hope that 10 years from now I've discovered my calling. Even though I enjoy experimenting with different colour palettes and ways to approach spatiality, it seems that something is still missing. I also hope that I've found a way to make a living with my art or other creative practise. I like teaching, so it would be great if I've found a subject that I'm excited about to share with others. Someone recently asked me what I think about starting my own artist in residence. There are many things to consider and for now I'll keep exploring and experiencing new things. What I would like to say to myself 10 years from now is: 'Congratulations with finding the treasure'. But probably in the back of my mind I'd hear a voice saying 'But it doesn't end here, you have still so many things to do.' It sounds strict, but even now I feel the need to contribute society in some way or another.
What projects are you working on right now?
At the moment I'm documenting my short trip to Hong Kong last July in an accordion notebook. The evening before my arrival citizens at a subway station in Hong Kong had been attacked by alleged triad gangsters. At that time I was stuck in an unhealthy environment. Thanks to the amazing support from fellow artists, friends and strangers, I felt empowered and I still feel thankful for this experience. My artistic freedom was at stake and the situation in Hong Kong had a big impact on me. These two things mutually intensified each other in such a way that once I got home, I fully embraced the urge to start this project. The notebook consists of mainly dialogues with my friend from Hong Kong, intertwined with ink drawings based on photos that I took during my stay. I'm home for one month before I'll go to my next art residency, therefore I only focus on this project. A project from earlier this year is on hold. It's hard to tell what I'll be working on two weeks from now.
How do you keep yourself accountable in your practice?
Once a year I make a few goals that are usually practical and doable. Much more organically I try to stay aware of things that might be worthy of a future project or experiment. This can occur during the process of making a painting, but can also be inspired by external factors as is the case with my project about Hong Kong. After finishing a project or residency I usually assess what I've learned, what new inspirations I gained and so on. Before making a choice, I try to argument this in regards to my long-term goals. Furthermore, I share my paintings and other art- related matters on social media and my website. I feel responsible for the things I share with people. I think it's common sense to be held accountable for this, to a certain degree.
How do you stay motivated to pursue your creative work?
Truthfully, I have no difficulty staying motivated and I'm also easily inspired. There are so many things I still want to learn and experience, I probably need several more lives to realize these. Only once I've lost motivation. It was a good lesson, and since then I've developed ways to keep motivated, even during the time that I had no artistic freedom. Setting goals helps me to stay focused and keeps the motor running. But, trying to believe in myself and my dreams is probably the main force of why I can keep going on. Actually, I think that many things are possible if you are creative. I have to admit there are many times when I thought of quitting. Deadlines usually take a big toll on my health and the pressure in general is something unpleasant. But as long as I find meaning in making paintings, I'll continue to do so. From experience, anything less quickly bores me and even seems to exhaust me. Lastly, through my art practise I feel as if I navigate through life in quite a conscious way. It teaches me a lot.
Where do you hope to be 10 years from now and what would you like to say to yourself?
I hope that 10 years from now I've discovered my calling. Even though I enjoy experimenting with different colour palettes and ways to approach spatiality, it seems that something is still missing. I also hope that I've found a way to make a living with my art or other creative practise. I like teaching, so it would be great if I've found a subject that I'm excited about to share with others. Someone recently asked me what I think about starting my own artist in residence. There are many things to consider and for now I'll keep exploring and experiencing new things. What I would like to say to myself 10 years from now is: 'Congratulations with finding the treasure'. But probably in the back of my mind I'd hear a voice saying 'But it doesn't end here, you have still so many things to do.' It sounds strict, but even now I feel the need to contribute society in some way or another.
Find Yana Poppe on Instagram
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