Alina Ion

I was born in ‘the place where nothing happened’ and have been in a love-hate relationship with Bucharest for the past twelve years. Walking alongside the quotidian, holding on details and trying to deal with (the perception of) space, I probably still think as a painter hidden under the vast, succinct and long ‘interdisciplinary’ term.

You can contact Alina on her Instagram profile and on her website https://alinaion.com/.

When did you discover your passion for art and what does art mean to you?

Art – as a means of expressing something – has somehow been very close to me: as many children, sometimes I would draw when I was little. I still have my first portrait made by pen. Then, there were the painting classes I attended from 10 years old until the 12th grade, at the creative centre in my native town. Quite the opposite, writing has always come handier to me (bad pun intended); then, after college, in a stage that dealt with art a means of giving meaning to something, I’d rather write ideas, forget about them, then come back, as I usually come back to how I define art.

Describe yourself briefly: what triggers your emotions or what makes you angry?

Short descriptions make me nervous because I believe choosing just a couple of elements could result in a single image. Just to mention some things I like: each time I pass by a jukebox with rubber balls, I take one; walking; when I have an idea – these few seconds prior the thinking process that follows shortly. What makes me angry: the decisions in the cultural environment which hinder artists instead of supporting them.

Describe your artistic vision: sources of inspiration, techniques, messages you want to communicate to audiences.

As I come from another area of studies and I don’t have a master’s degree, at the back of my head I still have questions regarding (re)defining arts, (re)defining methods or environments; most probably one can identify these questions in my artworks. Generally, I am inspired by experiences (work related or not), personal ones, walks, random or recurrent things and the way they are perceived by me or the others.

Who influenced you on your path and how?

There were talks, experiences in certain periods of time which made a difference in how my path shaped, but I couldn’t say I had a true, long-term mentor.

What work of art your produced you like best and what does it mean to you?

I couldn’t say I particularly like one. I’d mention, though, the closest to me (not just recent), that is occam’s leftovers which is at the border between drawing and sculpture. I made this artwork out of the cut edges I kept from some drawings, eliminating a subject or ‘the subject’.

For me, this approach means a (self-)destructive tendency, or rather, a destruction without destroying the artwork, hidden by the lack of subject.

What moment in your career made you happy?

A feedback or a meeting – to call it somehow: when a person attending one exhibition of mine (why does it feel like my eyes don’t belong to me, opened at Galeria Posibilă), in a chaotic room, found, in the corner, some crumpled pieces of paper – with more personal notes about the artwork which I never published – and sat with me on the floor to read them and discuss about them.

What do you expect from Accelerator programme?

I believe that the expectations are from us. I liked the overviews from the beginning; they were helpful. Further discussions, more focused on certain topics also surprised me, together with the openness of the mentors. I said that expectations are from us, because I know that if I have any question or I am confronted with any context when the expertise of the mentors helps, there would be somebody to ask a piece of advice and whom I can start a dialogue with. This is quite important for me at this stage.

What other artists inspired you and why?

I might like some artworks of an artist more, and other less. I’d name some of the artworks I like that stayed with me during last years (written as I remember them now): untitled (1998), kunsthalle bern, Katharina Grosse; Tentative de dressage d‘une caméra (1971), Jacques Lizene; a certain work from the series Ballast (2008), Jo Ann Callis; untitled (2018), Tatiana Trouvé, (series Les dessouvenus); An Abandonment was accountable for the accumulation of acid after dark / Punctuated Remains (2015), Anne Hardy, Pierrick et Jean-Loup font du foot (1994), Pierrick Sorin ș.a.

What are your future plans?

I don’t have a fully strategic plan; maybe until 2 years ago I was thinking that showing my artworks was important. Now, I would say that accepting them is more important; and if there are any programs, open calls, or residencies which I believe could suit me, I would apply.

in Back to Where It All Began Exhibition