‘Nanna’s Kitchen’: The contrasting duality of Aaron Philander

Interview By Ntando Bam

My idea of what art is - or what it could be - has largely been informed by what I was taught at school, and I only took the subject until Grade 7. Now though, I’ve found a new appreciation for art in whatever shape or form, and part of that was due to an exhibition my friend took me to last year.

These days I jump at the opportunity to go to openings that come across my radar, which is how I came across Aaron Philander’s exhibition at AVA. At first I did not know what I was looking at (and still don’t to be honest), but I knew it was special work and needed to be given the spotlight.

You’ve been in other exhibitions before but in a group, how are you feeling after your first solo show?

“It was a really crazy experience because I really don't like the attention on me, like the spotlight on me when I’m there. Like, I don't know what to do. It's a very weird experience. I like talking, I like networking, but I don’t really want to be in the spotlight like that. Yeah, I mean, it was very different. And it was cool to see the feedback on my work.” 

“I think people were shocked about the amount of work I did.”

I went to the gallery again a couple days later and noticed you had already sold some pieces. How do you reckon you do such a good job in translating your work into buys?

“To be honest with you, I don't know. I think there's obviously a narrative within the materials I use, but also what my work speaks about. I've always loved finding these rusted, weathered materials. I find them so beautiful, like when I see something in the street lying around, I’m like, I want to pick that up and take it home.”

“Being able to put that in a space where it’s a bit more fine-tuned and cleaned to be put up in an exhibition where people can view the beauty of how I see these objects. So I can’t really explain as to why people are buying. I think people are definitely interested in the story and the materials I use, also because it is a bit unconventional.”

“That’s the thing with finding neglected materials, they have their own stories, they have their own narratives. I know I’m talking about my coloured identity and I’m putting my own narrative to it, but people can look at it and interpret it a whole different way.”

Do you think going to school for art helped you in a way?

“So, I'd always really had a basic surface level of thinking. I didn't read into things much, and I didn't have a lot of knowledge. So being at Michaelis definitely helped my conceptual way of thinking, theoretically as well. It really helped. In first year, I was like, Cool, I’m in a co-ed space, going from an all-boys school, so I kind of got distracted. In second year, I kind of took it a bit more seriously, but then in third year, we did this sort of materiality project, which was part of my painting major.”

“And I mean, from the start, like, first week, I just started making things because the thing with painting is it's much more conceptual. And the way of thinking, you know, like, in terms of materiality as well, which got me really into it. So that's why I went with painting. But after that, I mean, I've always had a love for material. Especially real estate, where they just build things. Treating it like it was Lego, it felt like I was a child.”

“Sometimes just making and actually just doing things helps my brain, I can't sit there and sketch on it, drawing and sit there and think of something.”

Your work touches quite a bit on your coloured identity, why is that?

“I’m talking about the reclaiming of that pride because I feel a sense of guilt that I’ve lost that. I’ve obviously been given a lot more opportunities compared to other people of colour, so that is a sense of guilt with these certain habits of “whiteness” that I’ve picked up and having to perform a certain way to fit in. Kind of like betraying my coloured heritage. So a large part of my work is obviously reclaiming, but I want to get to a level where I can give back to the community and you know, understand it a bit more.”

How has that played a part in your family dynamics then?

“Yeah, it's weird, I’ve definitely felt that disconnect within family when I’m talking about colouredness, where I picked up these habits of whiteness, but also ego. Where I’ve been like, what are they doing? Why are they talking like that? What are they eating? So there are periods in my life where I definitely felt more disconnected. There are three periods in my life where I was young and felt immersed in everything, in the middle where I felt the disconnect, and now where I’m trying to get back to where I was when I was younger.” 

“Now my eyes are a bit open, and my consciousness is more open as well. It’s that reclaiming of being a younger child and being like what is colouredness? And that is family, the smell of the carpet when I was at my nana’s house, the constant cooking in the kitchen, the laughter and loud aunties talking with each other, the weathered down furniture. They would host no matter what, whether it be money or food available, they would host.”

 "I think for me when I’m talking about coloured identity, I’m speaking about family and memory.”

What would you say has helped you navigate the art world?

“So I’ve definitely had a lot of mentors. Mentors and people that really believe in me. Obviously, my parents, my family, and people in the industry as well. Like Jared from Lemkus, he's mentored me so much on how the art world runs. I sometimes help him just set up and do work, and you know, he really, not only believes in me, but just gives me a lot of input from older people. Because you know, I'm very young. I don't know everything.” 

“So I think it's important for me to have older people around me, people like Warren Maroon, he speaks a lot about colouredness in his practice, and he’s given me a lot of perspective on that. Ed Young has also given me a lot of input and mentorship. Brett, obviously, Vusumzi Nkomo, I think he's a very critical thinker and very knowledgeable. So I think I've had small conversations with them as well in terms of figuring out identity, but also art practice. I think no matter how far I get or whatever it is, there's always a lot of learning. I’m never going to be at a point where I know everything.”

During my research I came across the Demo Projects, what is the idea behind that?

“So it all started with my mates Luca Nicholas, Matt Watt, Tomas Symons, and myself.” 

“Yeah, so, I mean, I remember Luca told me, it was in third year. He's like I want to open a gallery or a public space, and I want you to be in the first show. So that was the whole idea. And back then, I was like, you know, whatever. It sounds like a dream. And then it started.” 

“That's when my brain sort of started clocking what things could actually be. He has a very optimistic view of everything. If you want to be something, you can do it. Yeah, yeah. So the whole initiative around Demo was sort of giving opportunities to young emerging artists, specifically to exhibit or just be in conversations with established artists, that was the whole premise.  So whether it's exhibiting with him in a group show or just sort of pushing this young generation of artists to come to shows and network. We sort of wanted to give those opportunities and also just challenge the traditional notion of galleries, where things are just put up on a wall. You know, in a certain way, which is commercial, and that's how it has to be done. We kind of just wanted to have fun with it and also challenge it.”

“So one exhibition we like flooded the space. Where people had to just sit without their shoes and just talk with others in that sort of environment.”

“Yeah, we sort of did a lot of shows like that work, and also shows where we had big names in a group show like Zander Blom, Lady Skollie was in one of the shows, and it helped us just with the networking, seeing how galleries are run and seeing how to curate and how to put on a show to entertain people. Then we got into Art Fair last year, where we had our own booth, which was crazy. That was another one of Luca’s dreams. “I want to be in Art Fair”, and then it happened.”

Why the fascination with wood and will that always be your “thing”?

“I definitely like wood because it's just so easy to manipulate. I think, when I talk about putting Legos together, like a child, it's so easy to just squeeze and glue on wood. I’ve definitely been making these things that are commercial in a way, but also, you know, they're sellable, you know, you can put it up, some of them are framed nicely. But part of that, I want to be doing something different, like installations, big installations aren’t necessarily simple. You go into the exhibition space, and people are like ‘wow’. It’s immersive, it's engaging, where I want viewers to become active collaborators of the space, whether it's ducking under something or moving through something.”

“I don't want to restrict my creative practice by just doing one thing. I think I've definitely been working on this because, you know, it's the resources that I have. But, yeah, there’s definitely bigger things I would like to be alongside those things, like big installations where it is just an immersive space and it's not necessarily about the monetary side of things. Also, to show another side of who I am.”

How have you managed to turn yourself professional, especially in a difficult field like art?

“So, representation is important, and I’m very lucky, because when you’re signed to a gallery, it definitely makes things a lot easier. They help to sell the work, they ship it, they push it. But I think it's important now at a young age, for me, I do want to sort of experiment. I mean, if I get signed, I get signed, that would be lovely, but experimenting with different galleries and getting groups just to see what I like and just dipping my toes into everything. I'm still young, but eventually I do want to be signed by a gallery. I do want to be in the Art Fairs.”

Some people could say that your work is just junk being put together, how do you handle that?

“I mean, my family’s friends have said things like that, and to be honest, it is. It kind of goes to that saying of “one man’s junk is another man’s treasure.” I love just finding things. I think a big part of my practice is scavenging for things and the sitting down with materials to see how they work, and it’s valuing the process over the final product, that’s a big methodology in my work. So when people say it’s junk, it’s true.”

“Everyone has their own opinion, and that is fair enough.”

Looking at your work it can come off as violent with knives and chairs cut in half being involved, but you don’t come off as someone violent. Why do you think that is?

“I remember one of my lecturers saying that a lot of my work is overtly violent, and often I ask myself the same thing. They did make an observation between the violence and the tenderness and caring, whether I’m caring about the objects or the story I’m trying to tell through them.” 

“I think the contrast of the violence and the tenderness is a duality of what I’m speaking of and what’s going on inside of me. I haven’t clocked it yet, so I guess I’m going to keep going at it.”

“I can even interpret it in terms of the difference between my ‘nana’ and my grandpa. With my ‘nana’, she was the soft and caring one, while my grandpa was the tough disciplinarian, where even the tools I used in the pieces came from his shed, and he would not allow me to touch them when I was younger.”

I know you’re still at the beginning of your journey, but what advice would you give to someone wanting to pursue art as a career?

“So, I think in terms of high school, high school's weird. I don't know, I've always had a passion. So I kept on working. I wasn't necessarily the favourite in high school, but my art teacher was always, you know, she always pushed me. I think in high school, I’ll definitely say if this is something you want to pursue and you’re truly passionate about it, just push. It sounds cliché, but just dream because anything can happen, it sounds a bit cringey, but truly it can happen.”

“I would say in uni you'd carry that on if you’re truly passionate about doing it, let's say you're in art school. But like practically, I would say, because I mean, I wish I knew this in 3rd year, I would say assist so you can learn all the behind-the-scenes. You see how an artist makes work, how they package their work, how they sell work, and how they curate work. There’s so much knowledge where you can learn by just watching and getting your hands dirty, you know.” 

“Also, just going to shows, I wish I went to more shows during uni, like going to shows and just showing face. Even if you’re not talking to anybody, that’s fine.”

As I’m finding my way through interviewing people, I’ve come to realise that I, as the interviewer, can walk away having learned something.

Aaron and I found commonality in the fact that sometimes even though you are put in a privileged position, you can still find struggle within that. Especially in terms of trying to find your own identity as a child - without compromising who you are or want to be.

Even though I don’t fully understand his art, I do understand that he’s adding his own element to the Cape Town art scene as well as to the wider art world.

And going forward I’m excited to see how he implements all the ideas he has bouncing around in his head.