On this episode, I got to connect with Ochie Winaga, a multi faceted creative living in Indonesia. We started off with her stating that she is unsure whether she is actually an artist, which I think is pretty funny because I’m personally certain that she is.
As an artist working with mobile photography, cyanotype prints, and pottery, one would think that she has an academic background in art. To the contrary, she went to school for Public Relations, and held a job in that field for 11 years at a company! Sounds like the experience led her to realize she wanted to do more with her creativity, and so she left that world.
The creative journey started to take shape for her in 2014, after she joined an online mobile photography community centered around street photography (iPhone Asia). Last January, she finally went full time with her art, completing what to me seems like a journey out of something very unfulfilling, and into one where she can explore more of her potential.
With her mobile photography, she does editing work in Photoshop. As for her cyanotype prints, she actually exposes her prints to the sun, which is absolutely amazing to me! She doesn’t have access to the appropriate UV lights to process them with, so is the next logical option, and I think it’s so cool. Can you imagine letting the sun literally be one of the core tools in an art medium? Wild.
As for her pottery, it’s something that she clearly found a lot of joy in, especially in getting to create objects with her hands. A really interesting, and unique crossover here, is her idea of transferring her cyanotype process on to ceramics. This is the kind of mad scientist stuff I’m here for.
On the topic of intentionality, Ochie says her life is the inspiration for her work. The pandemic really gave her space and time to find a new direction with her work, and explore new tools, such as learning to use Photoshop to enhance her photography.
Additionally, releasing trauma seems to be a core tenet in her work. She has some roots with this is in personal loss, and living as both an ethnic and religious minority in her country. These are intense feelings, and art is truly an amazing outlet to release and explore these traumas. While she is exploring some specific themes, she also makes it clear that it’s up to the viewer to decide what they’re getting out of what they’re seeing.
I really dig that she’s okay with the failure that comes along the way. Especially with something like pottery, there are so many steps leading up to firing a piece that you can go back on. But once it goes in a kiln, all control is out of your hands at that stage. It’s a commitment to permanence: nerve-wracking.
Getting into the NFT stuff we talk about how she got into it, and how it has accelerated her skillsets by being exposed to so much art, and so many people working with digital software. We muse a bit about the blockchain, and what it means to sell your art physically, and digitally. Ultimately, though, Ochie is equally excited about selling her work both digitally, and as physical objects.
My biggest takeaway from our discussion was her braveness in stepping away from a steady job, and her willingness to face new challenges to pursue where her creative spirit is leading her. To me, this is the kind of vulnerability and trust building artists excel at, when they are creating meaningful art. And her art is very, very meaningful if you’re willing to take the time and look into it.
Be sure to check her out on Twitter, Instagram, and all marketplaces she has listed here!
Next week, my guest is Tazzista. Painter, musician, and an academic, he has a lot of insight on what it means to be a part of a culture, digital or otherwise.
Transmission #30 - Ochie Winaga