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| -- picture by http://www.jeaneenlund.com/ -- |
Kitty Von-Sometime is an artist best known for her series The Weird Girls Project, she comes from Reykjavik and she agreed to answer some questions about her splendid and unusual project.
WAS : First, can you introduce yourself?
Kitty : Kitty Von-Sometime. Artist, director, producer, DJ, mother, gardener and a damn fine cook.
WAS : How the Weird Girls Project is born?
Kitty : The beginning of The Project was not supposed to be a beginning. I had noticed many of my female friends were shy or concerned of what people thought of them to the point it was holding them back. Some of these ranged into very serious issues such as eating disorders and social phobias. Some of it came from serious issues such as rape and abuse.
I decided to take these serious issues and shake them out by doing something which wasn’t serious and instead focused on fun.
I took the self consciousness and pushed the women out and past it by using costumes and cameras to expose them and encourage them to release their inhibitions. On the first occasion it was planned with a photographer and I produced video media but it was very naive – yet the base concept worked. The excitement was there and the release in the women was obvious. So this was where it began.
WAS : Could you tell me more about this project?
Kitty : I have now produced 15 Episodes plus 7 Specials. Each one has a pretty different style and texture both in concept and end cinematic format. I enjoy putting my formula into different visual directions. I work with a variety of collaborators in photography and film making to help achieve this as well as feeding my hunger for experimentation.
The Project’s ruleset is what stays the same:
• The women do not know anything when they turn up on the day, this includes location, costume and concept.
• The piece must be produced and recorded within one day in order to maintain the vibrancy of the women’s excitement and surprise.
WAS : How do you chose the place, clothes, make up, music? What inspires you?
Kitty : The concepts come from all around me. Sometimes I can see something as pedestrian as a certain shaped vase or a colour in the sky. Other times the song is something I have first and my mind twists and creates the visual to go with it or alternatively there are locations which scream at me and I see the final image in front of me before I have even started. Artists who inspire me include Leigh Bowery, Busby Berkeley and David La Chappelle, but strange things such as mathematics and children’s toys also have a huge influence. Locations, costume, music, makeup etc are all part of the conceptual process and come at differing points in the journey for each piece.
WAS : Do you like electronic music?
Kitty : I listen to many different types of music. Friends have been known to say that playing my iTunes on shuffle is like a time warp in a multiple personality. But to go out dancing I really love electronic music and disco.
WAS : What's your top 5 best tracks?
Kitty : top 5 electronic tracks right now:
- Want You in My Soul (Hot Toddy Remix) - Lovebirds Feat. Stee Downes
- The Voice Of Q (Instrumental) - Q
- Love 2 Nite – Roska
- Over – Gus Gus
- ParaChute Youth – Cant Get Better
WAS : What´s the next project with the Weird Girls? Do you have any ideas?
Kitty : I have many ideas always brewing, waiting for their time to be born. Currently I am in China on a 3 month stay working on other art projects involving installation, photography, painting and performance. I am eager to get the next episode of The Weird Girls Project underway but will wait until I get my feet back on Icelandic soil.
WAS : Anything to add?
Kitty : www.theweirdgirlsproject.com
Thank you!
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