victoria larnach | natural plant dyer + artist
w i t h o u t g r e a t s o l i t u d e, n o s e r i o u s w o r k i s p o s s i b l e
~ pablo picasso
|| Part One
I have an agreement with nature and it just so happens that this medium is the way that I can express that agreement. Sometimes I feel like giving up. But then I check in with myself and I don’t really want to give up - I just need to find a way to make it work. And I remember that agreement.
I’m going through my own process of withdrawing. I’m having a break because it was consuming me. I was having a really difficult time just being present in my everyday life. I’m letting myself rest, because I got tired trying to keep up. It goes against everything that I love about what I do. I’m not about competition or fast pace. I’m not about any of that. My work is a slow process. Life and nature move slowly, and everything is accomplished in that time + space. There is this awesome quote by Pablo Picasso: “Without great solitude, no serious work is possible”. There needs to be an aloneness that is necessary to accomplish those things.
I am fascinated with colour. Everything I do is so bright + colourful. But there is also this underlying fascination with death + decay. Probably because I’m learning to come to terms with it and understand that I will die, the people I love will die someday… the plants I work with die each time I use them. I find it so interesting. Death is a huge part of creativity. You need the death in order for the life to come.
|| Part Two
Fifty percent of the time I’m like …“fuck yeah, this is good. You’re either gonna like it or you don’t - but I don’t care because actually, I love it”. And then there are times when I think, “oh my god, will this be received well? What do I need to do to make this ok? Am I enough? Is this enough? Am I doing enough?” There is also this really interesting thing about being creative and stepping outside of the box, where your biology literally holds you back. We are programmed to be communal + to rely on other humans and so when you step outside of what is normal, you are putting yourself at risk of isolation. It is that deep biological thing ingrained in humans. I believe that’s why it is scary for a lot of people to step outside of something that is normal or comfortable – because they fear isolation. They worry that other people may not agree or approve. I feel like the more we start working with that, we can start to slowly push out a bit more and get some breathing room around that fear.
words by victoria larnach
edited + curated by cassie douglas