Nonamey Recreates Teenage Hide Out Using Cardboard In Latest Installation

The resident of your room seems to have more cohesive interests . ..?

Perhaps! My room’s girl is involved with the Riot Grrl scene, the make-it-by-hand punk lifestyle. 

I noticed a recreated Stereolab Peng (1992) and Franc albums (1995) Was this circa 1999? or more like 2001?

I would say closer to 1999 before the world ended in 2000 at midnight. 

I’m probably wrong, but i think having more physical media back then made us revere the past more. I mean, we actually lived with our music. It was more of a commitment. The media took up actual space and real estate They were kinda roommates of a sort, as well as decor, a reminder of our interests and identity something that probably doesn’t happen now…  

There’s something very different between a closet full of VHS tapes and the Netflix Home Screen. I know which one I’d prefer aesthetically, but I also know what I like in active practicality. 

I noticed the addition of the window. I think this element is crucial to the whole work.  It only does it complete the corner of the world you’re depicting but if represents the outside….

Thank you. It’s the first time I’ve depicted the “outside world” in my art. 

What does the outside world look like to this particular teenager? Is the glowing light welcomed, or does its brightness repel the vampiric teen when the shades aren’t drawn?

It looks like a standard suburban grassy lawn. It lacks the inspiration of the interior world of what the room offers. 

The teenage bedroom is typically the place of expression without outside judgment. 

Is the window a means of escape to another world? Did you  sneak out of your window at night at that age often?

I did indeed sneak out at night, although I lived in the woods of Northern New Mexico, not exactly a prime location for exciting teenage exploits. But I did go look at the stars. 

Do you ever spot a particular box or piece of cardboard and say “I know exactly what to make with that” or is it the other way around?

There are So many boxes that hold possibilities for me. I’m particularly attached to rectangular moving boxes, they make great guitar amps. 

Do you listen to the music which you enjoyed during this particular time period while working on an installation like this?

I absolutely did listen to every album that was recreated in this installation. Particularly a lot of Team Dresch, the Softies, the Need and Bratmobile. 

How far does that go..  I mean,  are you a “method artist”?

Perhaps! I never thought of myself as such, but I may as well say… yes, yes I am. 

We can’t avoid this topic any longer: Let’s talk corrugation. How much does gauge of and direction of corrugation of the cardboard medium factor into your sculptures?

It plays into every piece I create, especially the curved or rounded sculptures. I call it the cardboard “honeycomb.” It’s the direction in which the cardboard is most fragile, I typically use that to my advantage. I break the spine of the cardboard and manipulate it into the shape I desire. It sounds more violent than it actually is. 

About five years ago or so Hi-Fructose featured you in line of our print issues as part of Dosshaus, when you were part of a duo. It appears a lot has changed for you since then,  personally and creatively…

Yes, I started Dosshaus with my boyfriend when I was a teenager. It grew from that point forward, and there were some incredible creative experiences in that art collective. But, as a queer human and as an individual artist, I had to work solo. 

I noticed since that you’ve started working solo, you’ve been using a lot of bright colors in your work…

Yes, I see the world in rich colors now, as opposed to in greyscale. 

How is it working as a solo artist?

It’s an incredible experience, and necessary for where I’m at in my career. That isn’t to say I am not open to collaboration down the road, either. 

Dosshaus collaborated with Sympathy Records to put out a 45 “record”which was a direct price of cardboard. I admit that when we received ours I spun it on my finger and imagined what the music would sound like. Can you help me get a mental picture of what that might be or at least the genre of music?

A little bit of Leonard Cohen meets New York Dolls. It escapes the confines of genre. 

I’ve noticed a bunch of cafes… I believe there’s one in Tokyo, and “immersive” art places now doing a very similar approach with their spaces, using lines , emphasizing the corners with lines it’s hard to see the influence or similarities of your and Doss Haus ‘ work in these places . what are you thoughts on when you see that?

I don’t feel there’s any sort of appropriation going on, I truly do feel it’s an appreciation of the “comic style” painting that has been adopted by many different artists and designers over the decades past. 

To me the aesthetics are only part of what you are going. There’s a lack of soul or personal stake to thee other similarly approached works I’ve seen…

My style is my language, the sculptures themselves are where I’m attempting poetry. 

Will you focus on other rooms or periods of time for your next projects? Like perhaps a recreation of your first minimum wage job?

I absolutely will, I’m attracted to other time periods, particularly of the “manual” decades before internet. There’s a beauty in objects such  as the cassette tape, the vinyl record player, and pinned-up ephemera that has been cut out of magazines. As far as a recreation of my first minimum wage job, I’m not sure if digging drainage ditches on a farm is what the muses are yearning for…. For now. 

“Teen Dream” , an installation by Nonamey is now on view at Brassworksgallery until July 6th in Portland, Oregon 

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