Saïd Kinos opens his new solo exhibition ‘Lost In Thought’ at Root Gallery in Rotterdam this Saturday night. Ahead of the opening we hit him with a few quick questions about the show.
Hey Saïd, thank you for taking the time for to let us in on what you’ve got happening. What can you tell us about your exhibition?
This is my second solo exhibition here in Rotterdam. But actually the first one with an actual gallery. It’s being held at Assembled By Root gallery, which is a small gallery who Ive been working with a lot lately on different kinds of projects.
The show will contain mostly paintings. My work has changed a bit over the past year and the focus has been more on painting, rather than collage and mixed media.
How are you going with your prep?
Actually it’s going really well. I feel like this might be the first time that I’m not stressing out up until the very last minute before the show. It was very hard work tho, I have basically missed the entire summer because I was in the studio pretty much seven days a week. But hopefully it was worth it haha
How did the chance to put on a show come about?
I have been working with this gallery for a while now. We’ve done a variety of projects over the past two years. I’ve been a part of some group shows as well as some public art projects. So I guess the time was right for me to do a solo now.
What’s been involved in making it happen?
Just a lot of long days in the studio I guess. Getting the work done, making sure it’s good enough to show, doing promo, making sure people know about the show. Trying to find a balance in what my ideas are and what’s actually possible haha.
How would you describe the work that you’re putting together?
My work is very graphic. It’s balancing between typographic- and abstract art. It’s all text based, so every painting says something, but I think the majority of people wont be able to read it. My work has changed in the last year or so. basically because I get bored quite quickly. It’s become a bit softer on the eyes I think. It used to be very very graphic and abstract. I also started to work with color again. Before it was mostly black and white. Sometimes people think it’s digital collage when they see it online, not knowing everything is hand painted. I feel like this is definitely the best work I’ve done to date and I think I can build off this ‘style’ or however you want to call it for a long time.
Is there a common theme for the works that you’ll have?
Yes. The show is called ‘Lost In Thought’ and the general theme is the way people communicate with themselves. The self talk every person has with him- or herself from the moment they wake up until the moment the go to sleep again. I’ve had some tragic events in my life over the past year and I’ve started to notice how I’m constantly in dialogue with myself (both in hard- and in good times). And how this affects how I’m feeling and moving through life in general. I started meditating (or at least trying) which is the practice of observing your own mind and it’s really fascinating how most people are thinking all day every day, without being aware of it.
A lot of the works are inspired by the lessons of Sam Harris. He’s an American philosopher and neuro scientist who also teaches meditation. He had a quote that stuck with me: “thinking without knowing that you’re thinking (being lost in thought) is the basis for most of human suffering.”
That was basically my starting point. After studying this subject for a while, you quickly run into deeper, more philosophical questions like “Is the ‘self’ an illusion?” “Am I actually the thinker of my own thoughts?” “What is a thought?”
I’m definitely not saying I have any answers to these questions, but it’s fun to play around with. And I think this theme is so broad that I could build off it for a long time to come. And because my work is text based, I can touch on these subjects in a very subtle manner.
Have you had any challenges?
I guess the biggest challenge was only having two months to produce all the work. I have had a show in China that opened at the end of June, so all the work I had in the studio went there. Its a duo show together with another artist from Rotterdam. Her name is Lisette Schumacher. The gallery there was quite a large space, so literrally every work I had went there. When I came back It was like “Fuck, Now I have to create an entire new body of work in two months” But its a good thing in a way too. Sort of a fresh start.
What excites you most about the show?
I think just for people to see the work. Finally being able to show why I havent been outside all summer haha
Is there anyone you’d like to give a shout out to?
Yeah first of all Yvonne from Assembled by Root, for giving me the platform to show my work. Also to WildBarz. He’s a silkscreen printer from Bruxelles who helped me create a work that I’m very happy with. And last but not least to my fiance, who has been very very patient with me over the past few months and giving me all the space and time I need to get this done.
Are there any comments you’d like to add? Anything extra you’d like people to
know?
Not really man, Thanks for the interview! 🙂
Saïd Kinos
Lost in Thought solo exhibition
Opening at Root Gallery on Saturday 31.08.19
Wednesday – Friday | 12:00 – 18:00
Saturday | 12:00 – 17:00
Exhibtion details: root.gallery
Instagram: @saidkinos
Web: saidkinos.com