DON’T LET THE FUCKERS GET YOU DOWN! – Aaron Russell from The Jago on art and life in London’s most creative haunt: Shoreditch.

Hailing from lovely Ireland, Aaron Russell is a London based
contemporary artist/curator/event organizer/entrepreneur
and the creator of The Jago a fantastic, one-of-a-kind gallery/bar/studio space in one of the trendiest areas of London
and one of my favourite top inpirational people in the world!

In this exclusive interview for SMV, Aaron shares his views
and experiences on art -as a London based artist and gallery
curator- as well as giving us an insight into life and inspirations
from London’s most creative haunt: Shoreditch.

Shoreditch is well known for its creative types, its fashion
forward crowd, eclectic nightlife, cultural offerings and laid
back attitude and The Jago is a perfect amalgamation of all
of these characteristics. In Aaron’s words:
“The Jago is all about providing an easy-going space
for the creative types of this world to showcase their work,
whether it is performance, fine art, music, fashion, etc”

- Where are you from originally and how long have you been an artist for?
I was born in Northern Ireland, been living in London
for 9 odd years. I feel I’ve always been an artist – gladly
I never had to choose. In the past four years I have had
three solo exhibitions and taken part in four group shows,
most of the shows have been in small galleries in East and
North London. I look at all of these past shows as reference
points, their main value is only relevant to me and my
progression in understanding my role as an artist. For the
outsider they will be more relevant in twenty years or so.
Scoring a goal from the half way line in a football league game
with a full-on top corner lob………. It’s a football thing.

-If you weren’t an artist what would you be?
If not an artist, then a pirates life for me.

-What influences your work, what are the concepts behind it?
In lighter moods I like to think my artwork is about time
travel, a register of events, places, people, maybe just
words or images that have passed through history and
finding my place amidst it all. Take the piece ‘Les Carabiniers’;
the text is from a 1963 French movie describing the darkness
of war, the images are of various people going about their
everyday lives by a selection of street photographers from
New York circa 2008. Together they give instant expression
to my understanding of mankinds desire for destruction and death.

Right now I’ll say colour is my strongest influence……lets just
say that a piece of work more often than not takes off with a
colour, the colour is some kind of sign post for the work. For
years I only worked in black and white, colour was trickery I
could become obsessed with and lost in, so I avoided it but now
its my guide. You could say I am a time travelling colourist.

- Which are your dreams and ambitions as an artist?
I am not sure. I remember seeing a photo of Pablo Picasso
on a sun-bleached roof terrace making small sculptures, the
guy was probably in his late 70’s and he still had that mischievous
grin on his face.

- Why “The Jago”?
Ah yes why The Jago. Well, ‘The Jago’ is a square mile of land
running parallel with Bethnal Green Rd and Shoreditch High St
where in the 1800’s all the murderers, prostitutes and other
vagabonds of the day would reside or hideout. It was notoriously
the most dangerous part of Dickensian London, even the police
would never enter for fear of a horrible death. The area was
demolished in the early 1900’s and replaced with the Boudary
estates – the first social housing in Europe. The rubble from
the demolition now makes up the foundations of the beautiful
Arnold Circus Bandstand. There is a short book called ‘A Child
Of The Jago’ worth a read.

- Who is your favourite artist at the moment?
Takeshi Kitano is currently my favourite artist. Not only
a great comedian, performer, painter, actor and sublime
director he is also the creator of the greatest game show
of all time TAKESHI’S CASTLE!!! A truly inspirational human
in the art of creativity.

- If you were a work of art, which one would you be and why?
I would maybe be a Rothko, cold, boring, vague, enigmatic
or maybe warm, romantic even spiritual, depends on how you
look or just the time of day – I’m not good in the morning.

-Best art moment ever?
The first time I saw a Jackson Pollock at the Pompadieu
in Paris stopped me in my tracks, 30ft long. That ability
to paralyze the mind, body and soul is a true sign of artistic
genius, I remember just standing there motionless while my
whole being was, I guess, reprogramming itself in response
to what it had just encountered. Sounds dramatic I know but
you see I didn’t see it from a distance, there was no lead-up,
no getting used to, I simply turned a blind corner and BANG
there it was. Picasso’s Bull would I’m sure have had the same
effect but unfortunately the first time I saw it was in turning
a page in a book and there it was, postage stamp image,
top-left, black ‘n’ white.

- In what gallery or Museum would you love to see your art exhibited or you would like to curate for?
I would fill The County Hall just to show it can work.
I like and respect Charles Saatchi but that place had
too many different artists/styles, I should know I worked
there. The concept simply didn’t fit the space and it’s
a good concept and great space.

-If you were able to reincarnate, who would you come back as?
Reincarnate? Me……….. it would be like Groundhog Day, brilliant.

- If you could invite 3 people to dinner (no matter from
what age) who would they be and where would you take them?
My three people for dinner would be, Marilyn Monroe, Tupac Shakur
and Paul from the first series of The Apprentice- he was the white
suited wheeler dealer London boy. Three loose cannons back to
mine for pineapple curry and rum.

-Best ever trip to?
By myself on the Caribbean island of Tobago during April
/May off-season in 1999. Two magic months of exploring
and affectionately being called ‘white boy’, I might just
have been the only tourist there at that time and Tobago
was largely untouched by the hands of developers. Days
spent playing football or ’skilling’ the ball with the locals
(I lived beside Dwight Yorke’s mother and played with his
brothers and school friends), generally wandering around
in the guise of Robinson Crusoe – William Defoe wrote the
book on the island. I remember buying my loafs of bread
and printed on the packaging would read ‘what lies behind
us and before us, compares nothing to what lies within us’
-beats reading Kingsmill.

-Best read?
Best read is The Great Gatsby, or Playboy May issue
1975 for the Norman Mailer fight report on Ali v Foreman,
electric journalism.

-Favourite movie line?
” I’m drowning here and your describing the water!” –
a reluctantly in love Jack Nicholson in “As Good As It Gets”.

- Which piece of clothing from your wardrobe would you say that defines you?
I have two pairs of blue linen slacks which are great for
work rest and play, unlike a mars bar.

-Fave music?
I like Happy Mondays, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Daft Punk, Joy Division, Paul Simon, Leonard Cohen, Led Zepp, Beatles, Hendrix, Buckley, Yardbirds, Grateful Dead, Buddy Holly etc. Also I know a guy called Naveed who lives in Ilford, he’s a brilliant singer songwriter from the Camden scene of early 2000’s, how he’s never got signed is a mystery but I listen to his recordings a lot.

Thank you Aaron and finally please choose the song of the day:
‘Got My Mind Set On You’ by the late great George Harrison.

For more about The Jago visit www.thejago.com

XO
Nona

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Reading: DON’T LET THE FUCKERS GET YOU DOWN! – Aaron Russell from The Jago on art and life in London’s most creative haunt: Shoreditch.